


The Best is Yet to Come

by Bluethealpha



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Alola-chihou | Alola Region (Pokemon), F/M, Galar-chihou | Galar Region (Pokemon), Jouto-chihou | Johto Region (Pokemon), Kalos-chihou | Kalos Region (Pokemon), OC X CANON, Other, Pokemon, Pokemon Sword & Shield Spoilers, pokemon oc x canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:29:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 21,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27433573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluethealpha/pseuds/Bluethealpha
Summary: Nearly finished with her journey around the world to study Pokemon for her father, Ru starts to realize that researching may not really be her thing after all. Afraid to disappoint Professor Elm, she continues her studies in Galar. At the same time, she struggles to deal with PTSD she had developed back in Alola. It isn't until she settles in Galar where she might just find that courage she needs and meets someone she never thought she'd find herself falling in love with. THE champion of Galar; Leon Rowe.
Relationships: Dande | Leon/Original Character(s), Dande | Leon/Original Female Character(s), Kibana | Raihan/Original Character(s), Kibana | Raihan/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 40
Kudos: 32





	1. The Arrival

“Now arriving at Wyndon International Airport. Thank you for flying with Pelipper Airlines.” Intercoms above passenger’s heads clicked off after the pilot spoke. 

Many of the passengers already were getting their things back into their carry-ons so they’d be set to exit the plane the moment the opportunity came. Almost as if they were in a rush to get to where they wanted to go.

One person had already been ready to get off the plane for the last ten minutes, a young woman and her Houndoom, who eagerly watched the plane landing from the window beside her companion.

The Pokémon had to wear a special collar to show attendants she was an emotional support Pokemon. Therefore, she was allowed out of her Pokéball. She never liked being in it anyway. She didn’t wear that collar except for times like that, it also had her name engraved in a beautiful cursive font; ‘Laika’.

“Would you look at that, they have a tower too. It looks taller than the Prism Tower back in Kalos!” The woman pointed out her window to a massive silver and teal tower with a rounded top, Laika looked out with her and barked in reply. 

From what the pair could see, Galar looked like such a beautiful region. Ru couldn’t wait to explore it and see the sights, try the native dishes, and get a feel of what traditions they might have. She took a brochure that was in a little net on the back of the chair in front of her, depicting a gorgeous navy castle with a crown-like tower. 

“Hammerlocke Castle...it’s so beautiful. I wonder if we’d be allowed inside…” She slowly opened the booklet, seeing more and more pictures of many popular buildings throughout Galar. She was brimming with delight and held the brochure over to her Houndoom; “Look, Laika! Maybe we should try the curry for lunch later today as our first meal in Galar! Oh, this is so exciting!” 

Laika barked, rolling out her pink tongue to pant happily to her trainer. Her stomach even growled in anticipation of the meals they were going to share in the new region they’d be calling home for the next year or so.

Ru was a researcher for the famous Professor Elm in Johto, traveling to study Pokémon around the world, and study the species that were seen in multiple regions. To see if their behaviors were the same as they were there from where they originated. 

She had already been to Kanto, Sinnoh, Kalos, and Unova. And she had just left Alola as the most recent region she went to. She still remembered everything she learned there and all the friends she had made. 

Vividly remembering when having to say goodbye to her closest friends, Professors Kukui and Burnet.

“Don’t be a stranger, Cousin! You always have a home here so come visit us often!” Kukui told Ru while patting her on the back with a strong hand, nearly knocking the wind out of her with his strength.

Burnet nodded in agreement with her husband, wiping her tear-soaked eyes; “Yes, please visit us often, Ru. We’re gonna miss you.” 

Ru exhaled softly, having to wipe her eyes remembering her dearest friend’s last words before leaving Alola. “We’re gonna have to give Kukui and Burnet a call when we get to our hotel, Laika. I’m sure they’d appreciate us telling them we landed here safely. After we meet up with the professor here first, of course. Daddy said his associate Professor Magnolia would be able to give us some of her books to help us get started on our research here.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ru and Laika emerged from the baggage claim in the airport, dragging one massive suitcase in one hand and holding a large purse over her right shoulder. A great perk to have a large canine at her side was the harness she made for Laika to carry her other two bags with ease. Laika was trained for that too anyway.

The main lobby of the airport was breathtaking. Banners and beautiful abstract art everywhere. Advertisement signs littered the main floor too, some depicting an upcoming Exhibition match between the region’s gym leaders and champion, and others promoting local restaurants and products. 

“Oh, that’d be fun to see what the battles are like here! A perfect opportunity to see any new Pokémon in action as well.” Ru looked to her companion, who barked happily.

When looking around the lobby some more, she noticed some people looking at her in awe. Probably more at her Houndoom than her, actually. A child came running over, eyes twinkling with interest.

“I like your Pokémon, miss! What is it?” She asked, reaching out a hand to Laika. “May I please pet them?”

“Oh!” Ru giggled and propped up her suitcase, patting Laika on the head, “This is Laika! She’s a Houndoom, the dark Pokémon. She’s from the Johto region, born and raised there, in fact. You can most definitely pet her, she loves being pet on her neck.”

“Hello, Laika! My name’s Emma!” The little girl reached up to pet the massive canine’s neck, receiving a yip and friendly lick on the forehead from her. Laika’s tail wagged as she leaned down to give the little girl more access to her neck and head, knowing she was much taller.

“Hey, excuse me! Are you Rufina Elm?” A loud but sweet-sounding voice called out, getting closer as Ru heard it.

The young brunette turned, seeing a woman in a beige coat and bright orange hair tied up in a side-ponytail. Her teal eyes were so bright, even when squinting happily. “Why yes, I am!” Ru responded with a smile in greeting.

The ginger giggled, waving to her hand and then reaching it out for a handshake; “Fantastic! I’m Sonia; Professor Magnolia’s granddaughter. I’ll be helping you drop off your things in Circhester and then we’ll head to the lab. It’s such a pleasure to meet you!”

“Oh! It’s so nice to meet you, then!” Ru shook Sonia’s hand gladly, “I assume you are an assistant to your grandmother?”

“I am! I heard you’re also one for your dad? Guess that’s one thing we have in common.” Sonia laughed and twirled a strand of her hair with one finger, “You have to tell me about Johto when we get to my grandmother’s, I’ve always wanted to travel there and see the Burned Tower! Such wonderful mysteries your region has.” She sighed, almost daydreaming about going abroad.

“Ha ha, I am. That’s why I’m here, after all.” Ru gripped the handle of her suitcase, now following Sonia outside of the airport.

She and Laika were immediately drawn to a bright pink car parked just by the doors and just in front of a dark silver vehicle. It was no surprise that it was, in fact, Sonia’s car when she opened the trunk for Ru’s suitcases. Sonia was kind enough to have helped put the larger luggage in first while Ru reached over to unclip the smaller suitcases off Laika’s sides. 

The young ginger glanced over, finally noticing the dark canine and held her breath, leaping over to grab Houndoom’s cheeks and squeal in delight. “WHAT A CUTE POKÉMON!!! We don’t even have Houndoom's in Johto! Oh, you’re such a beautiful thing!!” She couldn’t help but burst with joy seeing a new Pokémon, pinching Laika’s cheeks and bouncing up and down.

Laika whined, her cheeks stinging from the woman’s long teal nails piercing her skin, looking to Ru with pleading red eyes for help.

“Y-yes, this is Laika! She’s my emotional support Pokémon so she’s always by my side.” Ru hesitated the urge to simply pull Sonia off her companion, a bit amused by how the ginger was reacting.

“Oh! An emotional support Pokémon! That’s so fascinating!” Sonia jumped up to face Ru, now cupping her own cheeks with joy. “You have so much to tell me at my grandmother’s now! I wanna know all about Laika too!” 

“O-okay, sure!”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The ride to the Magnolia Lab was long, much to Ru’s surprise. She didn’t realize the lab was all the way on the other side of the region, good thing her flight got there super early in the morning. What also surprised Ru was...Sonia’s chaotic driving skills. The vehicle itself showed age through how it took bumps in the road, how it handled speed in general. Sonia took pleasure in driving at high speeds, which made going up and down hills quite the experience. More so when they arrived and left Circhester to drop off Ru’s things.

And, at last, they pulled up to a beautiful building just at the outskirts of a small town called Wedgehurst. At that point, Ru was dying to get out of the crazy pink car. She stumbled out, her hair a bit frizzy and a bit clumsy on her feet. She held a hand on the side of her face and groaned.

Laika slid out from the back, looking like she was extremely nauseous. 

“Here we are!” Sonia shouted, “Welcome to the Magnolia Laboratory! Told ya we’d make it here quick!”

“I...never doubted it…” Ru muttered under a shaky breath as she staggered toward the front door.

Emerging from the lab was Professor Magnolia herself, smiling softly and adjusting her small glasses when looking to the young brunette that was with her granddaughter. “My, you’ve grown so much since I last saw you, Rufina Elm. Why, I think you weren’t even half the height you are now when that meeting was held among all the Professors. At least, the last one you attended with your father.” She approached Ru and gently took one of her hands to shake in greeting.

Ru giggled, “Well, I was just a little girl then! Daddy never did trust someone to watch me for him.”

“I remember. You were quite the troublemaker. Yet now, you’ve matured and have become quite the young lady.” Magnolia then gestured to her lab, “Let’s go inside, I’m sure you’d want to rest up a little and let your father know you’ve arrived safely. I just made some tea.”

The three women all sat around a table just to the left of the lab, each holding a cup of tea in their hands. Next to the table, Laika wolfed down a bowl of food made just for her, a Yamper eating next to her too. A small tv sat on the counter on the other side of the table, where a few pre-recorded battles were playing. 

Ru watched this battle with interest, seeing a Pokémon she was all too familiar with, and a totally new one that had to be from Galar itself. “That Charizard is incredible!” She said in awe, “I’ve never seen one so agile, so focused on its opponent. That must be some trainer it has.”

“Why yes, our Champion raised his Charizard very well.” Magnolia smiled, “Leon and his Charizard are undefeated and have been for a decade, he always keeps his Pokémon sharp and ready for battle.”

Sonia chimed in, laughing; “Especially against Raihan! One of our gym leaders. They’ve been rivals for as long as I can remember. Even as kids they were so competitive toward each other.” She pointed to the screen just as there was a closer shot of the Pokémon Charizard fought against; “That Pokémon is called Duraludon, you’ll probably see a couple when you start working in the wild area tomorrow.”

“I hope your Houndoom is strong, Rufina.” Magnolia paused to take a sip of her tea, now looking over to the brunette. “The wild Pokémon out there are much stronger than ones you’re probably used to in other regions.”

Ru nearly choked on her drink, having to take a moment to recollect herself before responding. She laughed nervously; “Oh, I don’t battle. Laika can hold her own long enough for us to escape a battle with a wild Pokémon. But we don’t actually fight back.”

Magnolia nodded, “Well, as long as you know what you’re doing to keep from getting hurt, I won’t question it. Sonia will help you get things together and set you up for your time in the wild area. She’ll also give you the number for the Corviknight Taxi’s on your way back to Circhester so you have a way to get back when you’re finished tomorrow.” She then smiled with a playful wink; “Don’t hesitate to stop by the lab and explore our books too. I promise I won’t tell your father if you decide to cheat with your studies.”

“Heh, thank you, Professor. I’ll keep that in mind if I get stuck.” Ru looked to Sonia, “I don’t mean to be rude but- could we take one of those Corviknight Taxi’s back to Circhester in a bit? I want to see what they’re like.”

Hearing her trainer ask that, Laika threw her head up from her bowl and nodded wildly. Even she was secretly begging not to go back in that old pink car. 

Ru looked back to the tv, only now seeing anchormen explaining the battle that had just ended. She never got the chance to get a good look at the trainers, each camera shot had only been of the Pokémon battling or an overhead view where the trainers were like specs on the screen. Maybe tomorrow, she’d get another shot to see what the trainers are like on Galar. From what she had already learned in other regions, you never know what kinds of faces you will meet. And which ones would change your life forever.


	2. The Stranger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On Ru's first day of studying the Pokemon of Galar, she finds herself showing hospitality to a stranger who also happened to be in the wild area.

4:35 AM. 

The sun hadn’t even come out, yet Ru’s alarm clock screamed into her ear on her old phone. She had that phone since she was 16, and it still worked like new ten years later except for a few abnormal noises coming out of the speaker at random. 

Ru’s hotel room in Circhester was very cozy, with beautiful red wallpaper and cream accents, and short striped carpet on the floor. Almost every bit of mahogany furniture was covered in papers and bags. 

Her alarm kept going off for the next five minutes, until Laika hopped off the foot of the bed and groggily walked up to the end table, glaring at the phone. She looked to Ru and let out a loud bark, guests in the rooms next door could no doubt hear echo against the walls. 

Ru flinched, opening one eye to look at her Pokémon, who snorted in her face. “I’m up...I’m up…” She yawned, rolling over to have her back facing the Houndoom. 

She immediately went back to sleep.

Laika growled and jumped back onto the bed. Only this time, she used her curved horns to shove her trainer off the bed. 

Ru landed on the floor with a loud thud, just narrowly dodging the end table with her head. “ACK! OKAY, OKAY, I’M UP FOR REAL! JUST LET ME GET DRESSED AND WE CAN GET GOING!"

Laika smirked, satisfied in waking up her trainer to get a start on their first full day in Galar.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Finally reaching the wild area by Corviknight Taxi, the sun was just starting to crest over the hills and cliffsides. Ru and Laika wandered the vast landscape, just admiring how diverse it was. There were even clouds in the distance pouring rain over a section of the wild area, while everywhere else was fairly clear. 

Ru quickly brought out a little pocket journal and started writing in it. “Incredible, this place is large enough to experience two different weather conditions. Perhaps only certain Pokémon come out of hiding depending on the weather..?”

Laika seemed just as interested, watching the storm in the distance shoot a string of lightning toward the ground. When she slightly turned to look to the right, she noticed Pokémon battling near a large pond. The Houndoom squinted her red eyes to try and get a better look, only able to make out a Rhyhorn charging toward a rather blurry orange figure. 

“Come on, Laika, let’s find a place to set up a place to rest between studies since we’ll be out here most of the day. And if Sonia’s right, we’re gonna get worn out a lot today.” Ru motioned her companion to follow, tapping her pen against her chin to think about where they’d start working. “I wonder if I should bring out Luxray in case we get too close to a wild Pokémon…”

Laika couldn’t stop staring at the fighting Pokémon, keeping her eyes on them as she walked beside her trainer. Suddenly, the Pokémon the Rhyhorn was fighting took off in the air, then diving down toward it like a bright orange spear. A huge plume of smoke and loose dirt now concealing the two. 

“Laika, come on!” Ru looked back to her Houndoom, noticing her attention toward something else. The young woman looked over, now also noticing the battle. “Hm, looks like some trainers getting some early morning training in. They must be preparing for a battle.” Pondering about it more, Ru pulled out a pokéball, tossing it out in front of her to release her Luxray.

The large black and blue feline let out a happy roar, smiling at her trainer. She sat down and quietly watched Ru.

“We’re gonna need an extra pair of eyes to watch out for aggressive Pokémon, Luxray. Think you can handle that while Laika and I get to work?” Ru reached out to pet her companion’s fluffy cheeks, giggling when hearing the Pokémon purr happily and dip her head. “I knew I could count on you! I’ll be sure to add something extra special in your lunch for helping.”

Laika barked, trotting ahead of the two to direct their attention to a group of wild Pokémon nearby. Ru and Luxray were quick to notice and hurried after the Houndoom.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lunchtime couldn’t have come sooner, the three now heading toward a small setup they made under a large oak tree. There was no tent but there was a large blanket laid out on the grass with all of Ru’s things scattered on top. 

Ru grinned to herself and sat on her knees in front of her bag, bringing out two Pokeballs. Laika and Luxray got excited, jumping around eagerly. “Why don’t you all go play while I prepare lunch?” She threw the red and white balls, releasing a Furret and another Houndoom, who quite literally sparkled when emerging from his ball. 

The shiny Houndoom was slightly bigger than Laika, and his horns much longer and whiter. Laika tackled him down and licked his face, her tail wagging wildly. The blue Houndoom yipped with joy and tackled her back, playfully nipping at the silver band around her neck. 

“Rocco, no biting! Go play away from our things!” Ru gently took the shiny Houndoom by one horn to guide him out of the shade, her other three Pokémon following. 

As soon as his trainer let go of his horn, Rocco bounded around Laika, who soon began chasing him around the open field. The small Furret scampered around Luxray, watching the Houndoom siblings play. Luxray wasn’t much for playing as she used to be, sitting down to observe the twins with the Furret now climbing onto her fluffy head.

Ru was glad to see her Pokémon all enjoying the beautiful day, collecting some cooking utensils and a fire starter from her satchel. Her stomach growled when pulling out a lunchbox and a bag of kibble for her Pokémon. “I hope I remembered the fruit.” She said aloud to herself.

Only fifteen minutes later, all four of Ru’s Pokémon sat around the shade to scarf down their delicious lunch. Luxray had some extra berries mixed into her kibble for helping protect Ru from the wild Pokémon. Rocco and Laika sat side-by-side to eat their lunch. Though Laika had to keep blocking her brother’s attempts to steal a bite of her food, despite them having the exact same meal.

The thick aroma created by Ru’s cooking attracted some bird Pokémon, a little group of Rookidee’s inching closer and closer to the tree. The young woman noticed the little birds and smiled, reaching into the bag of kibble and tossing pieces out to them. She even took this moment to study the baby Pokémon, also making a little sketch of them to pair with her studies. 

Ru’s Furret scurried over to the Rookidee’s. Both Pokémon seemed pretty curious about each other. A couple of the little blue birds hopped onto her back and head, lightly pecking at her short brown hairs. Furret let out a purr, letting the little creatures play with her coat. Ru couldn’t resist getting a picture, bringing out her phone and approaching the Pokémon excitedly. 

Suddenly, Laika darted over and took her trainer by the sleeve of her dark coat, yanking her back a couple of feet onto her butt. Before Ru could turn and question her companion, the ground shook in front of her as a larger Pokémon landed right where she had stood just seconds earlier. 

A Charizard.

Its head blocked out the sun, looking down to the young woman in silence. Ru shuddered, she didn’t know Galar hard wild Charizard’s. 

Laika stepped between Ru and the Charizard, growling at the creature to warn it not to get any closer. 

Charizard didn’t even flinch seeing Laika defending her trainer, only lowering itself and folding its wings. As soon as its wings were down, a person jumped off its back. A tall male, adjusting a cap on his head and only just then noticing Ru and her Pokémon. “Oh, did we startle you? I’m so sorry!” The man jogged over to help Ru back onto her feet until Laika jumped in his way and growled.

“Laika, it’s okay!” Ru quickly got up and stood beside the Houndoom, making her sit down. She looked to the young man, now able to get a better look at him now that she was off her butt and out of the sun.

He had long, scruffy purple hair, tanned skin, and an oddly shaped chinstrap along his jawline. Amber-colored eyes met her pale green eyes, and she felt a bit intimidated by them despite his friendly, wide smile. What caught her off guard about him was the huge red cape hanging over his shoulders with tan fur trim. There was an eye-catching logo on his shirt; a bright blue sword over a red shield. She thought he could be a gym leader of a nearby town or an elite trainer. 

Ru realized she was just awkwardly staring at him and smiled, gesturing to Laika; “I’m so sorry about my Pokémon, she’s kind of easy to startle when it comes to strangers.” She patted her companion on the head, laughing anxiously now. Why was she suddenly anxious? Something about the stranger made her feel like someone like her shouldn’t be so much as breathing in his direction.

“Ah, I understand.” He patted Charizard’s neck with a chuckle; “Charizard will get that way sometimes too if we just finish up an intense battle. We just finished up training so he’s a bit hungrier than fired up for another battle.”

“Oh!” Ru looked behind her at her spot in the shade; “Would you two like some food and something to drink then? I have plenty to go around!” She noticed Laika now standing in front of Charizard, the two Pokémon sniffing each other's faces.

The young man grinned, rubbing the back of his head; “I’d hate to intrude. Though I wouldn’t mind some water…” He glanced over to his Pokémon, who gave him a dirty look as his stomach growled. “Eh, well I guess Charizard could smell your food and that’s why he brought me over here.”

“Then I guess you don’t have a choice but to at least get a quick snack!” Ru chuckled and then lead the two strangers toward the tree. “Oh, and pardon me; I’m Rufina Elm. But you can call me Ru.”

“Leon Rowe.” The man gently dipped his head, following the young woman into the shade. “I’m surprised you haven’t heard my name before.” 

“Well, I only just got here yesterday, so I’m not too familiar with names here except Professor Magnolia and Sonia.” She picked up her lunchbox, bringing out her extra cup of fruit and a half-frozen bottle of water. 

Leon suddenly looked surprised, then crossed his arms over his bust. It felt a bit nice meeting someone who didn't immediately know who he was; “So you’re not from around here? I guess it should’ve been obvious since you have a couple of Pokémon not from Galar.”

“I’m from Johto, I’m here in Galar to study the native Pokémon for my region’s Professor.” She handed Leon the water and cup of fruit, glad to see him take them without hesitation. Ru watched the trainer’s Charizard nudge his way over, nearly knocking Leon down and looking to her with pleading eyes. “Oh, I’m sorry! You must be famished!” She laughed and turned to get the bag of kibble. 

Charizard followed her like a puppy, quickly taking the bowl she filled for him and wolfed down the small meal. 

“Charizard! Please, show some manners.” Leon let out a chortle as he approached to sit in the shade, opening the water and guzzling it down. 

Ru and the stranger, Leon, spoke for what seemed like hours under the shade while his Charizard got to rest a little. And when it seemed he was satisfied with his break, Leon hopped onto his back.

“Well, it was nice meeting you, Ms. Rufina! Are you going to be coming out here often?” The young man asked as he waved.

“Please, you can just call me Ru.” She giggled, “And yes, I am. If I want to get my work done, I have to come out here for a few hours a day. Though I may not always be out here around the same time.”

“Well, if I’m not too busy the next couple of days, maybe you could use someone from around here to show you around? I’d be happy to help! I usually come out here before sunrise to train, perhaps I could show you around at sunrise?” Leon looked around, “The wild area is a pretty big place.”

Ru’s smile broadened, slowly nodding her head; “Sure! I could definitely use the help so I don’t get lost.”

Leon’s Charizard frowned, looking at his trainer suspiciously. The man looked back and shushed him; “I know, I know! You’ll be there to make sure we won’t get lost!”

“Do you...not know your way around either?” Ru cocked her head to the side.

“I do! I do! There are just…” Leon rubbed his face nervously; “Some places I get turned around a little..? I promise I won’t take us to those places! Only areas that I know like the back of my hand. Besides, I got Charizard to help us if we get lost.” He patted his companion on the neck; “Right buddy?”

Charizard rolled his eyes.

“Well, it was nice meeting you, Mr. Rowe!” Ru waved to her new friend, who tipped his hat. Leon then smirked under the bill of his cap; “If I’m allowed to call you Ru, it’s only fair you only call me Leon.” 

As quickly as the duo had shown up, they took to the skies even faster. An orange blur flying high and to the north. Ru held a hand on her forehead to block the sunlight so she could watch them leave, then looked to Laika. The Houndoom shook her head, raising a brow in confusion. Ru went over to her back, laughing to herself; “Galar sure has interesting people. I hope that outfit of his isn’t common Galarian attire.”

Laika rolled her eyes and returned to where the other three of Ru’s Pokémon were under the shade of the tree. 

Ru looked back to the sky, then followed Laika; “Let’s clean up and rest a little more before we go meet with Sonia later!”


	3. The Second Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ru gets to learn a bit more about the wild area thanks to the stranger she met the day before.

TW; violence/death in first scene

\--------------------------------------------------------------

Drip. 

Drip. 

Drip.

Water trickling from the ceiling echoed through the cave chambers, mysterious plants the only things illuminating the halls with a gentle glow. The silence was deafening up until the sounds of heavy footsteps could be heard wandering the cave. 

Ru laid flat on the cold floor, feeling exhausted and like her body was made of air. She couldn’t feel her arms or legs.

Her chest felt heavy.

Laika was at her side, battered and bruised. She staggered to her feet and growled when spotting a large shadow on the cave walls, footsteps approaching slowly. She struggled to maintain her balance, shaking from the pain rushing through her body but she refused to stand down and leave her trainer vulnerable.

The Houndoom nudged Ru, helping her sit up, and urged her to move. But the young woman wheezed and shook her head.

“I-I can’t…” Ru said in a weak, raspy voice. She leaned against the wall behind her, her arms limp at her sides like a doll.

Stomping its way around the corner, a massive Guzzlord. Its huge pincers gripped the sides of the cave, crushing the stone with little force. The beast spotted the two on the ground and let out a piercing roar. 

It lunged toward them.

Laika panicked and urged for her trainer to get up, pushing her to move. When realizing it was no use, the Houndoom turned and ran toward the ultra beast. All that was on her mind was that she had to protect her owner.

Even if it’d cost her own life.

All Ru saw when looking to her right was her Pokémon leaping into the air, then getting caught inside one of those horrible black claws. Only her pointed tail could be seen, draped over those sharp teeth of the pincer.

She couldn’t scream in terror. Her voice felt tied down.

The Guzzlord locked eyes with her.

As soon as it started marching toward her, Ru knew it was all over.

The moment the exhausted woman could feel those sharp edges wrap around her neck and pierce her skin, she felt like she was choking.

Choking on her own blood as it filled her throat.

Guzzlord’s roars rang through her ears until she went deaf.

Her vision blurred.

She couldn’t breathe.

Ru could hear barking, despite having witnessed her beloved Pokémon die in the claws of the beast now draining the life out of her.

Her whole body suddenly felt heavy and warm and her face feeling damp.

‘BARK!’

Ru suddenly gasped for air, taking in as much as she could handle. Her eyes shot wide and she jolted forward, colliding with the head of her Houndoom, Laika.

She was back in her hotel room in bed. Laika was in her lap, performing what was called deep pressure therapy. That’s what helped wake her up.

Laika sat up, she kept as close to her trainer as possible and licked her cheeks gently.

Ru was still having nightmares. She had suffered dearly when ultra bests ran rampant throughout Alola. Having been sucked into one of the wormholes and being confronted by many of the dangerous creatures. That day still haunted her, even though it had been a year since it happened. And anything that remotely resembled or reminded her of the ultra beasts, she would be overwhelmed by her anxiety and fears.

She had trained Laika to help her through such episodes and make sure her nightmares didn’t last too long. Ru immediately hugged Laika, holding her dearly. “T-thank you...L-Laika…” She stammered into the Pokémon’s neck. 

The Houndoom whined as she snuggled up to Ru, keeping a close eye on the young woman. Pressing all her weight against the woman encouraged her to lay back down, which worked liked a charm.

Ru stroked Laika’s head and took a deep breath; “I’m okay...I’m okay…” She stared up at the ceiling, taking in a few calming breaths to try to recollect herself. She was relieved to know it was only midnight, she didn’t have to worry about losing too much sleep. With Laika snuggled up against her and her head on her shoulder, she had fallen back asleep without trouble.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just like the day before, Ru had woken up super early in the morning and headed straight for the wild area. She and Laika waited at the large oak tree, eating some breakfast prepared for them to snack on until sunrise. Ru was enjoying an egg sandwich, while Laika ate the kibble she usually brought for her. 

Laika looked around the field, watching the wild Pokémon that were just waking up. She looked up at her trainer, who patted her on the head as she yawned. 

“After we eat, we should get to studying the Pokémon around here while we wait on that Leon fellow. So if he doesn’t show up, we won’t waste too much of the day.” Ru laughed, “We’re not gonna waste time waiting on some random guy we literally just met. Not again.”

Laika rolled her eyes and groaned, only slightly annoyed by what her trainer mentioned. She lowered her head back toward her food bowl to finish her breakfast. That was until a huge snout shoved her away.

The houndoom fell onto her side, immediately looking to see what pushed her. A hungry Charizard had his nose in her bowl, eating what was left of the kibble happily. Laika was furious to see the overgrown Salandit had stolen her food and rushed over, growling in his face.

Ru looked over and couldn’t help but laugh at the predicament her companion was in. “Laika, I’ll give you more, don’t worry!”

Not a moment too soon after Charizard had shown up, his trainer appeared. Leon jogged over and pushed Charizard’s head away; “Hey, come on, buddy! You ate just before we left!” 

“Well, maybe it wasn’t enough. Charizard’s usually eat about half their weight every day, so he probably needs a bigger breakfast than what you’re already feeding him?” Ru stood up and walked over to the Charizard, putting a hand on his scaly neck. 

Leon scratched his chin, “Huh, I never thought of that. You know a lot about Pokémon!” 

“I have to since I’m technically a professor’s assistant.” Ru laughed; “Kanto was the first place I went to study Pokémon behaviors under the guidance of Professor Oak. So, naturally, the first Kantonian Pokémon I studied was the Charizard, Venesaur, and Blastoise evolution lines. Did you know the flame on Charizard’s tail can melt glaciers weighing over 10,000 tons if not careful? Some can even cause forest fires unintentionally.”

Leon and Charizard stared at the woman stunned, only blinking a couple of times before looking at each other in confusion. Charizard lifted his tail and eyed the flame at the end, frowning worriedly.

“Well, I suppose I learned something new today.” Leon let out an uneasy chortle, clearing his throat. “Anyhow!” He put his hands together, “I was thinking I could at least show you a rather tame spot to do your research before I go off to training. Being so close to Hammerlocke is- well...where the most aggressive Pokémon are. If you want to start your research in the wild area instead of the routes, then the best place to start is just outside of Motostoke.” 

“Motostoke?” Ru repeated curiously. She watched Leon point to a tower just in front of the sunrise.

“It’s not too far from here. We could ride on the back of Charizard to get there faster.” The young man was puzzled to see that the woman looked rather uncomfortable, raising a brow slightly. “Or...maybe not?”

Ru rubbed the side of her face and brushed back her brown hair, shaking her head. “I’m uh, not a fan of flying without seatbelts...no offense. I wouldn’t feel very secure flying 1,400 meters in the air on Charizard’s rather narrow shoulders.”

Once again, Ru’s intelligence had left Leon befuddled. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The quick flight by Corviknight Taxi didn’t take too long at all, landing right at the entrance to Motostoke. Ru couldn’t help but look behind her at the staircase, catching a glimpse at the tower that stood within the city walls. There was a moment where Ru almost couldn’t take her eyes off it.

“Ru! Over here!” Leon shouted from a little ways away from the stone pavement, waving a hand up high.

The young brunette looked over and smiled, following her new acquaintance down a dirt path toward a small wooded area. She looked around, seeing various Pokémon wandering the tall grass and in the trees. Ru suddenly became still, she was amazed by how a lot of these Pokémon were less aggressive than the ones she encountered in the northern side of the wild area. She flinched hearing a pokéball open beside her, Leon’s Charizard appearing.

“I have to get going, unfortunately. I have a pretty booked day ahead of me and Charizard needs to get some kind of training in before my match in the afternoon.” He hopped onto the orange dragon’s back and then winked to Ru; “If you ever need more help with your research, you know where to find me if you’re out during my training!” 

“I will, thank you!” Ru waved to the young man as he took off, then looked to Laika who also watched the Charizard and his trainer leave. “If we hurry, we should see if we can catch that battle of his later today.”

Laika barked in agreement.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ru entered the Wedgehurst lab, being greeted by Sonia’s Yamper, who scurried over to bark at her and Laika. The Houndoom barked back and followed the little canine toward the kitchen happily. 

Sonia jogged over and waved to the Johto researcher; “Did you get a lot of research today?” She brought the woman to the kitchen and went straight for a kettle over the stove.

“I did, actually! Thanks to a gym leader I met the other day. He showed me a place near Motostoke that’s a bit easier to start my research so I don’t have to keep two Pokémon out for my safety.” Ru took a seat, smiling excitedly. “I was hoping to catch his match on the tv in just a bit.”

“Gym leader?” Sonia removed the kettle from above a small flame, raising a brow slightly. “Was it Raihan, the Hammerlocke gym leader? I don’t recall him knowing so much about the southern edge of the wild area…”

“No, he said his name was-”

“Sonia, come here for a moment!” Professor Magnolia called from the other side of the lab, interrupting Ru’s response.

Sonia let out a quiet, annoyed groan and excused herself to see what her grandmother wanted. “The remote’s right there on the table if you wanna turn on the telly, Ru.” 

Ru watched her friend leave, then reach out for the television remote. But when trying to turn on the tv by pressing that big red button, there was no response from the little device above the refrigerator. 

When Sonia came back, she noticed Ru struggling with the remote and tried helping. Not even switching out the batteries inside it helped. “Ugh, I’ll have to see what’s up with it later…” She whined. The ginger looked at the young woman sitting down, noticing faded bags under her eyes. “Are you feeling alright, mate? You look tired…”

“Hm?” Ru tilted her head, then shrugged. “I uh...did have a little bit of a rough night last night…but don’t worry, I’m alright!” She jumped when Sonia grabbed the sides of her face and giving her a suspicious look.

“Hey. Don’t you go lying to me, Ru Elm! I know when someone needs someone to talk to; and you look like you could use it! So- spill it!”

“I swear, I’m fine! I admit I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night but I’m okay!” Ru kept reassuring her friend, who begrudgingly listened and went back to the stove where she had hot tea waiting.

Sonia let out a huff; “I’m watching you then!” She teased.

Ru rolled her eyes, looking down at Laika, who seemed a bit irritated that she had brushed off Sonia’s worry for her. While a nightmare wasn’t super serious, it was often that Ru would belittle her own troubles to not worry her friends or family. And Laika was well aware of that. The young woman reached out and patted the Houndoom’s head; “It’ll be alright, Laika. It’s not every night I get those nightmares anyway.” She whispered, “I just don’t want Sonia to always feel like she has to worry about me. I don’t want to take away from the time she could use to do things she wants to do for my sake- like our friends on Alola…”

Laika snorted, still giving her owner a look. She couldn’t do much to make the woman do the healthy thing and talk about the nightmare. But she also knew that talking about it might trigger her PTSD, which was another factor in that.

Sonia handed Ru a cup of hot tea, then sat in the chair next to her. “I promise I’ll get the telly fixed soon, I miss watching the matches sometimes myself. We should watch next year’s gym challenges together!”

“I’d like that a lot! I could study more Pokémon that way too.” Ru dipped her head to take a sip of her tea, ignoring the slight burn she now caused on the tip of her tongue.


	4. The Realization

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ru makes a new friend with one of Sonia's close friends in Hulbury and finally finds out just how oblivious she is. Ru finally watches a full Galarian battle.

TW; Mention of blood, mention of violence (last section)

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Four months had gone by, Ru mostly spending her time either in the wild area with her studies or at the Wedgehurst lab hanging out with her friend Sonia and her grandmother. Ru was really enjoying her time on Galar, especially since she had a bit of help with her research from both Sonia and the man she often bumped into in the wild area, Leon Rowe. She still somehow had yet to find out just who Leon was. Every time she and Sonia got to talk about him, Sonia was often interrupted as she was about to tell her. Ru saw a few magazines and clips of him on tv but never had the chance to read what people called him. Laika, on the other hand, did find out a lot sooner; but as a Pokémon, she couldn’t exactly tell her trainer flat out. She just had to watch in agony just how oblivious Ru truly was. Even poor Sonia was shocked just to see how long it was taking for the researcher from Johto to catch on that Leon was the CHAMPION of Galar. It was such a miracle she never saw the words ‘champion’ anywhere when she saw Leon on papers or the telly.

But not all things were great and fun for Ru. Her nightmares that at first only haunted her in Alola were suddenly more frequent again. At least twice a week Laika had to wake her up from the nightmares of that Guzzlord nearly killing the two of them. Half the time it was the same dream of the Ultra Beast actually killing her, and then the dream more like a flashback of exactly how it happened. Ru lost a lot of sleep and even Laika. But it was Laika’s job to keep Ru from suffering too long from those nightmares. Since they had been so frequent, Ru had been a bit jumpier lately, almost as if the incident in Alola was just days ago. But even so, the young woman still refused to tell Sonia, even though they had grown closer as friends since the first time she had those nightmares since arriving in Galar. But Sonia did her best to at least help cheer up Ru when she had one of those mornings. And what better way to cheer up someone than to take them to a cafe? 

The two friends sat in a cute little cafe in Hulbury, carefully taking their menus and reading through the various selections of drinks and treats. It was honestly Ru’s first time in Hulbury, so she often looked out toward the vast ocean, looking over to the lighthouse too. 

“Oh, by the way, I hope you don’t mind I also invited a friend to join us.” Sonia said with a grin, “You’re gonna love her, she’s the gym leader here and also a model. Her name is Nessa.”

Ru looked at Sonia and nodded, smiling back at her; “Oh, I don’t mind! Any friend of yours is a friend of mine. I look forward to meeting her.” She patted Laika on the head, “Thank you for taking me here. I’m glad to get to see more of Galar with someone. I just wish I could visit with Leon more often so we can be better friends. He’s been a lot of fun to visit with in the wild area, and he’s taught me quite a bit about Galar too.”

“Yeah...Leon’s probably one of the busiest people in Galar being the-”

“Sonia, hey!” A woman ran up to the two women in the back of the cafe, bright blue eyes looking at Ru first. “Oh, you must be the Johto researcher Sonia mentioned. I’m Nessa.” She held out her hand to offer Ru a handshake.

Gladly accepting the handshake, Ru bobbed her head politely, “I am. Nice to finally meet you, Nessa. I’m Ru.” 

Nessa’s dark hair bounced while she finished greeting Ru, then immediately taking her seat between both the girls, the bright blue streaks in her hair dangling in front of her face as she looked down at the menu. 

Laika walked around the table to sniff the water-type gym leader, then looked up at the woman, panting happily.

Nessa paused to examine the houndoom, elevating a brow with curiosity at the fire-dark type Pokémon. “Oh, I’ve never seen this Pokémon before. I take it she’s from Johto too?”

“Yes, this is my Houndoom Laika. She’s my emotional support Pokémon, which is why she’s not in her ball.” Ru reached out to pet Laika again, receiving a yip from the canine.

Laika felt a second hand touch her, Nessa now also petting her. The Houndoom barked and accepted the affection she got from both her trainer and the gym leader.

Sonia giggled; “Alright! Now that you two are acquainted, how about we order something to eat so we can have a snack while hanging out?” She clapped her hands together before standing up and heading to the counter nearby.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The three girls all laughed and joked among each other, truly enjoying each other’s company. Laika napped quietly next to Ru’s chair, only opening one red eye every now and then to briefly check up on her owner. 

Ru picked up her tall glass of iced tea, taking a long sip as her eyes panned up to the tv across the room on the wall. She noticed it was an interview with Leon. Before she could point to it to grab Nessa and Sonia’s attention, her eyes shot wide and she froze, holding her drink in place against her lips. 

‘Interview with Champion Leon about next years gym challenges’

“And so then my grandma-” Sonia paused seeing the almost traumatized look on Ru’s face and tilted her head to the side; “Eh, Ru? Are you okay?”

Ru didn’t respond, still holding her drink up to her mouth and slowly pointing to the telly with a quivering hand.

Nessa and Sonia looked at the tv, then back to the horrified woman.

“Yeah, it’s an interview with the champion. What about it?” Nessa asked.

Ru slammed down her drink, now violently coughing on her tea. Her reaction when finally finding out that her friend from the wild area was the CHAMPION made Sonia wheeze with laughter, which confused the Hulbury gym leader.

“Are you scared of him or something?”

Sonia leaned over and whispered to Nessa; “She’s been hanging out with him in the wild area here and there. And she NEVER knew he was the champion.”

That had instantly made Nessa fall into a fit of laughter, nearly falling out of her chair. “HOW COULD YOU NOT KNOW?! HE’S LITERALLY EVERYWHERE!” 

Ru blushed with embarrassment and glared at the gym leader, “I don’t know! I just- I DON’T KNOW!” 

Even Laika looked extremely amused watching her trainer finally finding out. 

“I’m honestly surprised Leon never said anything either,” Nessa mentioned before noticing a bit of a look from Sonia like she kinda knew why. “Well, I bet he’ll get a kick out of it next time you see him.”

“...y-yeah...the next time I see him…” Ru cracked a very nervous smile, sweating beads. “Should I even be seeing him? I’m uh...I don’t think I’m the person to be around such famous people…”

Nessa shrugged; “I mean, you’re friends with me now.”

“Besides, I think you’d know if he’d be a little bothered visiting with you. He’s a super sweet guy and isn’t one to outright tell you when he’s uncomfortable but you’ll be able to tell by how he reacts. At least, I do.” Sonia paused to take a huge bite out of the dessert in front of her, “And from what you tell me, he seems to like hanging out with you. I think you’re both turning out to be decent friends. He could use more friends who aren’t such a bad influence on him.”

“Like RAIHAN,” Nessa added.

Ru just bit her lip hearing her two friends talk about Leon, feeling a little sick to her stomach. She felt...weird finally finding out who her friend from the wild area was. But kind of wishing she hadn’t. She was never one to mingle with people of such high status except for the professors in the regions she had visited, plus her own father. But a champion? Someone who was the literal face of their region? How did she manage that? 

Laika noticed the uneasiness in her trainer’s body language and rested a paw in the young woman’s lap, letting out a concerned whine.

Ru glanced over at Lika and flashed a smile, petting her head; “Thanks, girl…”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Late that night, Ru couldn’t sleep. So many thoughts swirled in her head, all she could do while trying to calm her mind was stare up at the ceiling. Laika was curled up next to her with her head on Ru’s shoulder sound asleep. 

Ru grumbled, sitting up and letting Houndoom’s head fall onto the pillows behind her. She took the remote off the end table to her right and switched on the telly, finding reruns of some matches between the gym leaders. And nearly forgetting her glasses, she traded the remote for them on the table and carefully rested them over her eyes.

Laika cracked one eye open when hearing the tv, somewhat keeping an eye on her trainer.

The sleepy woman watched the match carefully, studying the movements of a turtle-like Pokémon and the same Duraludon from a match she had watched with Sonia a few times before. She realized the trainer who had the water-type Pokémon was Nessa, who looked a bit frustrated fighting the tall male she found out to be Raihan that Sonia mentioned a lot. 

Raihan suddenly withdrew his Duraludon, a white band on his right arm lighting up. This immediately caught Ru’s attention, and she slowly leaned forward in the bed to watch closely. The ultra ball then turned white, resembling premiere ball and growing in size. And with brute force, the gym leader threw the giant pokéball behind him as he turned around. 

Duraludon reemerged, only this time, it started to get bigger, and bigger until it was as tall as the stadium walls. The sky above it turned dark red, clouds circling its head.

Ru went pale in the face, her hands clenched handfuls of the blanket over her lap. She didn’t know what was going on but Duraludon reminded her of something she wasn’t expecting. Its tall, industrial-like shape somehow reminded her of an ultra beast. And to make things worse, Nessa did the same with her Pokémon. 

The turtle-like Pokémon craned its neck, snapping its large mouth as it awaited its trainer’s command. 

Just like Duraludon, Nessa’s Pokémon reminded Ru of an ultra beast. Their huge, intimidating size, and the echoing roars they sounded. What really triggered her, was that Drednaw’s jagged shapes and massive jaw...made her think of a Guzzlord; the very ultra beast that caused her accident in Alola.

Flashes of the past played in Ru’s head like a movie.

Guzzlord slashing her back, grabbing her arm, then her leg, trying to drag her away. Laika risking her life to save her.

Blood everywhere.

The only sounds she could hear were her own screams of pain and terror echoing through those tunnels, and the growls of both Laika and the Guzzlord.

Laika instantly took action, standing up on the bed and getting in front of Ru, ensuring that she was blocking the tv. She whined and licked her trainer’s face. 

Nothing was working.

Ru felt like she had gone deaf, only hearing her rapidly beating heart and her own shaky breaths. 

The world was closing in around her.

Vision fading.

Laika had become desperate to break the trance she was in. She tackled Ru down and laid completely on top of her, resting her head right next to hers. 

Ru had instinctively clung to her trusty companion and hid her face in the Houndoom’s neck, causing her forehead to scrape against the end of Laika’s right horn. But from how deep she was in a panic attack, she didn’t feel any pain from the minor cut she received. 

Her arms tightly wrapped around Laika, now sobbing into her rather coarse fur.

Laika had lifted her head for just a moment to reach over to the end table, using her nose to try and press a button on the remote. Which she had successfully done while also knocking it onto the floor. 

Now all that could be heard was Ru’s shaky, scared breaths between sobs. 

The sweet Pokémon gently licked the small cut on the young woman’s head, then licking tears off her face. She whined softly into her owner’s ears, doing the best she could to calm her down.

30 minutes. The longest it had taken to calm Ru down in a long time.

Laika was still awake, watching Ru like a hawk, even if she was now sound asleep. She knew after such a horrible episode, her trainer was almost guaranteed to have nightmares. So, she decided to forget about sleeping for a while until she was certain Ru would be okay.

Ru still had her arms wrapped around Laika’s neck, dried tears on her cheeks. Her body still twitched occasionally but otherwise looked rather content. And she still had her glasses on. 

And just as Laika had anticipated, Ru began to fidget around in her sleep and groan. Her face clenched and twisted as she showed discomfort, alerting the Pokémon to attempt to wake her. 

Barking, whining, and lightly pawing at the woman, it seemed a bit harder to wake her up that time. 

But when Laika finally managed to get her out of that nightmare, Ru went right back to the trembling, sobbing mess she was earlier and plastered herself to the Houndoom.

Laika gingerly licked Ru’s tender head, doing her best to give her owner as much comfort and reassurance as she possibly could. She had even put a paw over Ru’s body like a hug.

It was going to be a very long night for both of them.


	5. The Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Twice in a row now, Ru's had some bad nightmares and she's just barely starting to talk about them to her friends. But when she has a nightmare in the wild area, a friend happens to be in the neighborhood to lend a hand.

“Arceus, Ru! You look terrible!” Sonia sat across from her friend, setting down her cup of coffee. “It looks like you had a rough night...what happened?”

Ru silently ran her index finger along the rim of her glass of tea, unintentionally ignoring the redhead’s question.

The pair sat at the diner in Hulbury, waiting for Nessa to join them and visit. Ru had bags under her eyes and she looked a bit pale. Laika sat up close to her trainer’s chair, watching her like a hawk. The way she just stared at Ru made Sonia even more worried. 

“Ru...please tell me what’s going on with you, I want to help. We’re friends, remember?” Sonia reached out and put a hand on the brunettes, frowning with concern.

Suddenly, Ru looked up at her friend with watery eyes, “I-it’s just...last night…” She paused to take in a deep breath to compose herself, “Last night... I watched one of the tournament battles from last year. And the dynamaxed Pokémon...they somehow made me think of ultra beasts back on Alola...and I had quite a few panic attacks in a row.” She reached out the hand Sonia wasn’t holding to stroke Laika’s head, who whimpered as she leaned into Ru’s hand. 

Sonia’s frown deepened and she then took Ru’s hand with both of hers, holding it firmly. “Oh Ru, I’m so sorry! I never thought that dynamaxing would trigger your PTSD! I guess then you’ll have issues researching it for your dad, huh?”

Ru gently nodded, “That’s what hurts me the most. I don’t want to let him down, yet there’s this huge roadblock in my project here in Galar…”

“Well, how come you can’t just tell Professor Elm? I’m sure he’d understand. Does he know of your incident in Alola too?”

“Of course he does,” Ru sighed, “He flew all the way to Alola to see me at the hospital. I had never seen him so terrified in my life. Because of it all, Professor Kukui had to do give my dad what he had written down about the Ultra Beasts.” She looked down at Laika, rubbing her sore eyes, “But I’d feel terrible to not be the one writing stuff down for my dad for a second time. I’d hate for you or your grandmother to give him everything about dynamaxing.”

“Hey.” Sonia squeezed Ru’s hand, “Don’t’ sweat it! If it comes to it, my grandma and I would be more than happy to lend you a hand. After all, you’ve helped us quite a bit around the lab, so we’d have to return the favor somehow.” She winked with a bright smile, her orange hair bouncing as she shifted in her seat. Just as she released Ru’s hand, Sonia noticed Nessa entering the diner and waved her down. “Over here, Ness!” 

Ru bit her lip, watching the gym leader approach their table. She kept quiet, staring at the faint reflection in her drink.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rocks crumbled down the cliff as Ru approached, panic in her eyes. She could’ve sworn she heard a familiar voice nearby. The caverns were almost too dark to see, the only light was the soft electricity her Luxray emitted to make it easier to see where they were going. 

Laika was nowhere to be found. 

“Rufina!” The voice shouted.

Ru ran toward the sound of the masculine voice, soon finding her father Professor Elm running toward her. She grinned seeing the older male and rushed over with her arms outstretched; “Daddy!” 

Luxray suddenly grabbed her trainer by the back of her coat, stopping her halfway toward the professor. Before Ru could question her Pokémon, the ground started to shake beneath their feet violently. Her first instinct was to stand her ground and try not to fall, though the sound of a sudden scream yanked her out of her focus.

Professor Elm collapsed, the ground under him had caved and dragged him through the cracks. “RU!!” He shouted.

The young woman held her breath, green eyes shot wide with terror. “DAD!!” She ran toward the crumbling floor, getting on her hands and knees. 

She was somewhat relieved to see that her father was able to grab hold of some jagged rocks on the wall above him.

Ru reached out to him, “Take my hand, hurry!”

The old man gulped, shakily letting go of one rock to reach up for his daughter’s hand. 

As Ru struggled to reach more than the tips of Elm’s fingers, she noticed a blue glow quickly emerging from the shadows just below him. 

Her heart skipped a beat and she leaned in further; “Hurry dad! Something’s coming!” 

Professor Elm looked down, being greeted by a massive, glowing mouth and 2 pairs of bright blue eyes.

A Guzzlord.

Ru screamed; “HURRY, DADDY!” 

Her dad reached out further, desperate to get out of the ravine.

The only rock he was holding on to suddenly gave out, falling into the mouth of the Guzzlord.

Professor Elm held his breath as he felt himself fall.

Ru could only watch in horror as her father fell right into the jaws of the hungry beast below. 

All she could do was scream in horror.

She felt something grab her shoulders and gently shake her.

Ru jolted forward, suddenly hitting heads with someone else, and fell right back against the tree she had apparently fallen asleep next to.

“Ouch!” Leon fell backward onto his butt, rubbing his head gently. 

The brunette readjusted her glasses, also stroking the small lump on her forehead. The champion was sitting right across from her. How long had he been with her? Ru looked around, remembering she was in the wild area. 

Leon’s Charizard sat in the shade next to Laika, who had just gotten up to rush to her trainer’s aid. 

Laika placed herself on Ru’s lap, licking tears off of her warm cheeks and whining.

The young male in front of them staggered up, now rubbing the back of his head under his thick purple mane. “Geez, you must’ve had quite the nightmare...are you okay?” He asked with concern. 

Ru blinked a couple of times, then immediately rummaged through her back next to her in a panic. Her heart was racing and she felt like she was hyperventilating. She grabbed her phone and quickly dialed a number, tears streaming down her face again.

The phone rang a few times before an old man answered; “Rufina, it’s a bit late here, can I call you back?” 

“I-I just wanted to make sure you’re okay!” Ru shouted in fright, her voice cracked with each syllable.

Leon watched worriedly, going over to now sit beside his friend. He didn’t know what was going on but knew he wasn’t going to leave the young woman in distress anytime soon. It’d be wrong for him to do such a thing. 

He watched the brunette cry into her phone, desperately trying to calm herself down. Whatever her nightmare was about must’ve really traumatized her. Even if he hadn’t known Ru for long, he had never seen her so upset. It pained him to see her in such a state.

When Ru hung up, she dropped her phone in her lap next to Laika, covering her mouth and shaking like a leaf. 

Leon slowly touched the young woman’s shoulder, leaning forward just a tad to look her in the eyes through her glasses. “Are you...are you okay, Ru..?” 

He felt his heart sting when her reddened eyes looked at him with such agony.

“I’m…” Ru sniffled, wiping her nose with her jacket sleeve, “I’ll be okay...j-just a bad dream…”

Laika looked over at Leon, seeming to plead to him for a bit of help. Being out in the open, the Houndoom felt it was a bit of a challenge to calm her owner alone.

Leon exhaled softly and began to rub Ru’s arm reassuringly, “If you’d like, I’m open to listening about this bad dream. Talking about it usually helps.” He smiled, “I always let my little brother tell me about his nightmares when we were kids, and he felt better afterward every time.”

Ru sat there quietly for a moment, hesitant at first. But she then nodded; “Well...it was mainly about me being in a cave with my Luxray, Iris...we found my dad and he…” She started tearing up again, “he fell into a ravine and was eaten by a...a beast…” She was even too scared to tell him specifically that the monster was a Guzzlord. An ultra beast.

“Oh man, that’s awful. I’m sorry you had to go through that.” Leon was taken aback hearing the dream, feeling her shoulder tense up under his hand. He slowly opened his arms and leaned over, giving Ru a gentle hug. 

The young woman definitely wasn’t expecting a hug from him. The CHAMPION. Someone she felt odd for calling a friend.

Ru felt warmth from the hug. Security. 

She slowly and rather bashfully brought up her hands to return the hug, only sitting there for a few short moments before Leon broke the hug. 

“I’m sorry. I just thought you needed it, you seem to have a lot on your plate right now.” Leon said humbly, “Not just with the nightmares, I mean.”

“Thank you...it did make me feel a bit better.” Ru cracked a smile as she briefly removed her glasses to dry her eyes. She didn’t realize she had been crying again. “You didn’t have to, though.”

Leon chuckled, showing off that famous smile of his while crossing his arms below his bust. “Hey, that’s what friends are for! And if you ever wanna talk more to lift some of that weight off your shoulders, don’t be afraid to tell me. I’ll always lend an ear to listen.” 

Laika looked up at Ru, sitting up out of her lap to give her another kiss on the cheek. 

Ru’s smile broadened, she dipped her head to Leon and let out a soft giggle; “Thank you, Leon. Really...it means a lot to have made such good friends recently, even if I’ve only known you for a few months.”

“Well, I’m glad to be your friend!” The young man got up on his feet and then reached out a hand to Ru, and helped her on her feet as well. “If you’re done with your research today, why don’t I treat you to a late lunch in Wyndon?”

“Oh, sure! I am a little hungry.” Ru nodded and hoisted herself up with the champion’s strong, firm hand. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the back of the small restaurant in Wyndon Leon and Ru sat across from one another, laughing and enjoying each other’s company. Laika slept soundly next to Ru’s chair, only opening one eye occasionally to check up on her trainer.

“So, aside from doing all that research for the Johto professor, do you have any hobbies or side-jobs?” Leon asked curiously.

Ru bobbed her head, “I do. I also bred Pokémon during my time in other regions. Laika’s brother, Rocco, stayed behind in Hoenn for a while to breed with other Houndooms there. I also sketch a little sometimes when I’m bored.” Ru scratched her chin shyly, “I can never do full illustrations but I have lots of fun just sketching whatever comes to mind.”

Leon grinned, “Oh, you doodle? Do you have any you’d be willing to share with me?”

She could tell he was trying to help cheer her up, get her mind off some things. Ru smiled and nodded, pulling out her large research journal from the bag to her right. Upon opening it, the first page she came across had written about Rapidash’s and Ponyta’s, multiple drawings of both were scattered among the pages.

Laika peeked up, she didn’t keep her eyes off the young woman but seeing how kind their new friend, Leon has put her at ease, enough to try and rest more.

“These are all great, Ru!” Leon politely took the book from the woman and rested it on the table in front of him, pointing at the pages; “Do you have any of a Charizard?” He asked.

Ru took the book back from the champion, going toward the front of the book, then giving it back to him. Small sketches of a Charizard, Charmeleon, and Charmander decorated four whole pages of her research on the species. She blushed a little; “They’re not as good as the other sketches because they were my first few drawings...maybe someday I’ll-”

“These are so good!” Leon beamed eyes dancing around the pages to admire the drawings, even reading some of what Ru had written about Charizard. He pointed to a pokéball on his belt, “Do you think sometime you could draw my Charizard? I’ll gladly pay you to if you’d like! I really like them.”

Ru was baffled, her face turning redder. She scratched her face and giggled, “Uh, sure..! I wouldn’t mind drawing your Charizard someone. Though you don’t have to pay me to...you’re my friend, so I would gladly draw for you for free.”

Leon shook his head, playfully frowning and crossing his arms, “Oh nonsense! If I say I’ll pay you, I mean it! Your sketches would be worth every penny!”

“R-really..?”

“Really!”

Ru stared at her friend, astounded by just how encouraging he was. It made her heart flutter a little. Leon stared back with his famous toothy smile, letting out a bit of a chuckle as he scratched his head under his cap.

The two broke eye contact to continue browsing Ru’s research journal, talking about all the Pokémon she studied, and who she enjoyed sketching the most. Laika watched joyfully, happy someone else was around to help her owner forget about her nightmares and cheer up. 

Ru and Leon could’ve talked all day, hanging out for a whole two hours before the sun began to set. Leon stood up and brought out his phone to check the time, he hissed seeing how late it was getting, and traded his phone for an ultra ball on his belt. “I hate to cut our visit short but I have a meeting with the chairman in an hour and I need to get ready. See you tomorrow maybe? We could meet back here at the diner for lunch. I have all of tomorrow off.”

“I’d like that a lot.” The brunette slowly dipped her head, closing up her journal and putting it back in her satchel. “Thank you, by the way...for helping me feel better.”

Leon winked, “Hey, that’s what friends are for.” He quickly grabbed a napkin off the table and looked over to the young woman, “Could I borrow your pen?”

Ru immediately took out a pen from her bag, curiously watching Leon write something down on the clean napkin.

He handed her a phone number, “If you ever need someone to talk to any time, I’ll do my best to listen over the phone too. I may be busy a lot but I’ll always try to call back. Or you could text me.” He then winked, waving a hand as he turned to leave the diner, “See you tomorrow!”

“Yeah, see ya.” Ru waved back, watching the champion leave. She buckled her bag closed and looked down at Laika, “We should probably head back to Circhester before it gets too dark. I’m sure daddy will try calling when he’s not as busy and freak out.” She laughed when Laika rolled her eyes, now getting up to follow Ru out of the diner.


	6. New Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While continuing her research near Wedgehurst, Ru discovers someone in need of her help. 
> 
> A year and a half after first coming to Galar, Ru realizes something troubling about Laika when meeting another friend of Leon's out in the wild area.

“Ru, if you want to stop and come home, you can! You’ve already done so much, you-”

“No, I want to finish what I started…” Ru felt bad for having interrupted Professor Elm but she had to. She didn’t want to quit her research all because of some silly nightmares. How foolish would that be? “Galar’s actually pretty great. I’ve made some really nice friends here, and the Pokémon here are really interesting. I want to study them.”

Professor Elm swapped his phone to his other ear, leaning it into his shoulder as he adjusted dials on his microscope. He frowned, “If you’re sure you’re up for it, dear. I hate that you’re having so many nightmares about those ultra beasts...maybe try discussing it with Professor Kukui sometime if they’re getting so bad?”

Ru shook her head as if her father could see, rubbing her forehead; “I’d really hate to bother him, he’s been fairly busy lately with his own research. Besides, I-” She paused, noticing Laika had turned her focus to something to the left of the path and started to growl. “I’ll call you back, dad, something’s up with Laika.” She immediately hung up and kneeled down next to her companion.

Laika barked, staring directly at a boy in the tall grass, who seemed to be struggling with something. 

Ru and Laika had been up and down the path between Postwick and Wedgehurst for a couple of weeks now, and they had never seen that child before. Maybe he was lost?

“Um, do you need help there, sweetie?” The young woman approached the tall grass, Laika plastered to her side with caution. Ru put a hand on the Houndoom’s head, reassuring her while they had walked through the Pokémon-infested field. 

The boy turned, huge golden orbs looking at Ru, and grinned brightly. “Oh, no! I’m fine, thanks, mate!” He scratched the back of his head, fingers itching through his short dark purple hair. He had suddenly flinched seeing the massive canine beside the brunette, “Woah! What kind of Pokémon is that?”

Ru looked down to Laika, seeing she had now calmed down. “This is Laika, she’s a Houndoom from the Johto region.”

“THE JOHTO REGION?!” The child had looked so amazed, eyes twinkling as he got up in the canine’s face and gently petted her head. “That’s awfully far from here, I bet it’s so cool there.” He looked back up at Ru, “Oh, I’m Hop, by the way!”

“You can call me Ru.” The woman giggled, petting Laika with the boy. She felt something extremely familiar about the child; the eyes, the hair, and even that big toothy smile. She just couldn’t put her finger on it. “So, what are you doing out here in the grass, Hop?”

“Oh, right!” He ran back over to where Ru first saw him, “My Wooloo fell asleep here and he just won’t budge.” Hop motioned the woman over, pointing to his companion in a small opening between two patches of taller grass.

The duo followed him, soon enough seeing the large lump of wool snoozing the day away against a large boulder. 

Ru scratched her chin to ponder the situation, sitting on her knees beside the little Pokémon. “This might be just a hunch but perhaps your friend encountered a Pokémon that knows a move that’d put him to sleep?”

“Ah!” Hop snapped his fingers, “Wooloo did upset my neighbor’s Budew just a moment ago. They could’ve used sleep powder on him! Wooloo just can’t seem to learn when no means no- he’s been wanting a playmate for a while now…” He noticed Ru swinging her satchel over her head and dropping it onto the ground to rummage through it. He noticed tons of papers, poke balls, and an old Pokedex. Hop pointed to her bag, “Are you a professor? You seem to have a lot of stuff on you just like one would.” He suddenly gasped and knelt down in front of the woman excitedly; “ARE YOU WORKING FOR THE FAMOUS PROFESSOR IN JOHTO?!”

“What?” Ru paused to look at the boy, then back down at her bag and suddenly laughed, “Oh! You have keen eyes, Hop. I am working for Professor Elm- he’s actually my father, believe it or not.”

Hop was silent, completely speechless. The way he looked at her was like a child being told he was getting a Yamper for his birthday. “No way!” He shouted, “That’s wicked cool! The professor here has a granddaughter that is kinda like you in a way, you two would probably be great friends!” 

“Well, we kinda already are friends, actually.” Ru then felt the nudge of Laika, who had reminded her why she had her satchel out in the first place. The woman then went right back to digging into the bag and pulling out a small medicine case, “Right, I nearly forgot- I was going to give you something to help wake up your Wooloo.” She took out a little bottle of cream, handing it to the young boy in front of her. “Put a little dot of it on your finger and rub it under your Pokémon’s nose, and that should wake him up right away!”

“Thank you, Ms. Ru!” Hop rushed to Wooloo, doing just as the woman had instructed. “I sure hope Wooloo will learn to know better soon if I wanna sign up for the gym challenges when I’m older. If he keeps this up, then we’ll never get the chance to beat my bro in the finals!”

Ru cocked her head to the side, “Oh? Who is your brother then?”

The boy beamed, “Why, none other than the champion himself, Leon!” He then pointed to himself; “I wanna be just like him one day! As soon as he feels I'm ready for it, I’m joining the gym challenges and I’ll work my way up to be as great as he is!” 

Now she could see it! Ru immediately understood why Hop looked so familiar now and was honestly a bit frustrated she didn’t realize it sooner. But given her history of figuring out the obvious lately, it wasn’t much of a surprise. She watched Hop gently rub a pea-sized amount of the topical medicine beneath Wooloo’s little pink nose. The Pokémon immediately opened his eyes and rolled onto his feet, bleating loudly to greet his trainer. 

“Wow, that was fast!” Hop gave Ru back the medicine she lent him, “Is this stuff you can only get in Johto or something? It’s amazing!”

“I actually made it myself…” Ru replied bashfully, taking the bottle back from the boy. “I was always a little bothered by how most of the medicine’s in shops were only in spray form, so I had the idea of mixing the medicine inside of those with a basic ointment, one that is safe for Pokémon and actually edible in case they lick it off.”

Wooloo trotted up to Laika, greeting her with a little ‘baa’ sound. The Houndoom yipped a response, smiling to the little sheep and laying down in front of him.

“You should try selling these at some point, Ms. Ru! I bet a lot of other people feel just the same as you and would really like to use this.”

“You really think so?”

Before Hop could answer, his phone began to ring, flying out of his pocket and dancing around his face. The boy chuckled and then shook his head, “Looks like my neighbors wanna hang out, I should get going. Thanks a lot for helping out Wooloo, Ms. Ru!” 

Ru waved to the boy as he dashed away in a hurry, his Wooloo following after him. “No problem! It was wonderful meeting you, Hop!” Once the boy was gone, she looked to Laika and giggled, “Well, I guess we have a fun story to tell Leon when we meet him and Sonia later.” She jested.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had been a year and a half since Ru first arrived in Galar, and only 6 months since meeting Hop; the boy with the seemingly troublesome Wooloo. Having told Leon about meeting his little brother shortly after that morning, she got to learn a lot more about the boy. And even a bit about the neighbors Hop had mentioned. The twins; Victor and Gloria.

Ru had been meeting up with Leon at that same diner he brought her to that one day, only meeting in the wild area on accident. She had gotten used to one or the other, enjoying his company as well as her other new friends. Though it was almost inevitable for her to make friends with someone she often found annoying and questioned their friendship often, and she was to meet someone who would be just like that for her time in Galar.

Ru hung out by a small pond, letting her Pokémon cool off from the summer heat while she prepared lunch for them all. She had been learning how to make curry, a traditional meal in Galar she had grown to love throughout her time in the region so far. The smell of the roux and spices filled Ru’s nostrils, it made her stomach growl louder and crave it even more. 

Laika sat beside Ru to watch her cook, staring down at the cooking pot with her bright red eyes. She blinked and looked out to the open field ahead, spotting something approaching. Her lips curled and she quickly jumped to her feet, letting out a loud growl. The Houndoom attracted the attention of her comrades, as well as Ru.

“What’s wrong, Laika?” The young woman asked worriedly, not yet noticing the creature coming their way from the air.

Suddenly, Laika shot a huge burst of fire at the creature when it got a bit too close. It had been flying so fast toward Ru’s little camp, it was no surprise Laika felt the need to take such measures in order to protect her trainer. It was her job to, after all.

The green Pokémon crashed into the ground with a large plume of dust surrounding it. Ru flinched and rushed toward it with concern. At least, until Laika stopped her by jumping in the way with fire pulsing in her maw. It had been a while since Ru had seen her companion act so aggressively.

In fact, the last time Laika had acted this way was when...they were back on Alola… 

Now the woman’s heart was racing at the thought of things getting just as hairy as it was then. She couldn’t help but grip her left side, almost like she could feel pain in it as she was starting to feel quite terrified. 

A now dazed Flygon emerged from the dust, about to charge at Laika in self-defense before a Charizard got between them. Both the Houndoom and mysterious Flygon stopped when Charizard let out a roar to get them to stop.

“Woah! Woah! Woah! The hell you doing running off like that?!” A husky voice yelled, a tall, dark-skinned man ran up from the left and waving his hands wildly at the Flygon. 

Following the man was none other than Leon, who seemed just as surprised as he was. “Charizard!”

Both men could now smell the cooking, to which the taller male laughed. “Oh, I guess Flygon was hungry and got a bit excited.”

The champion grinned, dipping his head and laughing too until noticing just who Flygon had lead them to. He saw Laika whipping around and running over to Ru, who seemed frozen in place like a Deerling in headlights. “Oh, geez…” He ran up to the duo, “Ru! Ru, hey! What happened?!” Just as he stood next to the young woman and lightly touched her shoulder, she flinched and nearly fell down from being so startled.

“Wha- huh?!” Ru blinked a couple of times in surprise, not even realizing she had zoned out so badly just moments go. She felt a sting in her side and hissed in pain, holding a hand over the spot just below her ribcage. “Not again…” She mumbled to herself while still holding her side. Unintentionally ignoring Leon and his friend, who seemed quite confused about the brunette.

“Are you okay?” Leon followed Ru to where she had left her bag, watching her take a seat on the ground and bringing out a small first-aid kit, which worried him more. "Did you get hurt?"

“So, this is the chick you’ve been hanging out with, huh? She’s pretty cute for a professor’s daughter.” The champion’s other friend commented with a sly grin as he stuffed his hands into his hoodie pockets. "I always thought Sonia was the only pretty relative of a professor!"

Leon looked over his shoulder, “Not now, Raihan!”

Ru glanced at Leon, and now finally taking notice of the other man with him and raised a brow curiously. “Oh uh, hello...” She said to Raihan, who pulled out a hand from his pocket to wave at her in greeting. "Sorry...I guess I reopened a small injury on my side because of earlier..." She looked away from them with a frown, seeming like she was had gotten completely lost in thought.

While the three of them were by Ru’s little spot by the pond, Leon’s Charizard had been trying to break up the rather comical banter between Laika and the Flygon, assumingly Raihan’s Pokémon. Laika had not realized Ru walked away since her attention went back to the Flygon, headbutting it with her horns and knocking the wind out of it.

Charizard shoved his way between the agitated pair and smacked each of them with his wings. 

Laika and the Flygon whimpered from the slap they got, staring at Charizard pitifully. With them now settled once more, Charizard crossed his arms and huffed, giving them both a glare. Laika snorted at the champion’s Pokémon and slinked away to Ru. When the Houndoom realized Ru was back by the cooking pot and using a small first-aid kit, she rushed over worriedly.

“So uh, you seeing anybody at all, miss?” Raihan’s smirk widened before Leon smacked him in the shoulder, making him snort with laughter. “I’m joking, Lee! Geez!” He noticed the Houndoom plastering herself to Ru’s side and licking her face worriedly, which made his smile fade as his curiosity got the better of him. “Man, a Houndoom. I haven’t seen many of those here except for tourists exploring Hammerlocke. I’m not surprised that Pokémon was able to shoot down Flygon with such precision, they’re such tanks!” His smirk returned, “You wouldn’t happen to wanna battle sometime, miss? I’ve always wanted to try battling a Houndoom.”

Leon looked to Raihan, “I’m afraid Ru can’t really battle, Raihan...she’s only here to do her research, after all.”

“Now hold on.” Ru held a bandage and ointment in her hands when looking up at the two in front of her, looking rather irritated. “I never said I couldn’t battle.” She ignored the reason she had her first-aid kit out and staggered back onto her feet, brushing off her beige pants, and stared up at Raihan with frustrated green eyes through her glasses. “It’s not every day I have a Pokémon battle, sure. But since your Pokémon caused such a fuss and scared both me and Laika...I wouldn't mind a battle with you, Flygon-boy.”

“Flygon-boy..?” Leon questioned to himself quietly, not quite understanding why his friend seemed a bit upset. Not like the upset he had seen her before. 

This felt more...like she was upset about the situation earlier.

Upset with herself.

“HA HA HA! Damn, she’s got quite the fire in her! I like that.” Raihan was extremely amused by this and pointed to her while facing Leon, “Why didn’t you introduce me to her sooner, Leon? She’s great!”

Leon rolled his eyes and approached Ru, taking her by the arm and speaking to her a bit quietly. “Ru...are you okay..? You don't really seem like yourself...”

Ru looked up at her friend and her eyes softened. She looked away from him and sighed, “I just...the way Laika looked at Flygon when it came over to us really scared me...it’s hard to explain but…” Her voice trailed off and she gripped her hands into fists, “it made me realize how much Laika sacrifices for me. She went through as much as I did a while back and she instead worried about me instead of herself. That’s what upsets me- that your friend’s Flygon is what it took for me to finally see that Laika also has...things going on...like me…”

Listening to her closely, Leon dipped his head. “Well...Raihan’s Flygon didn’t mean to. We were nearby training together when our Pokémon could smell your cooking. Flygon was really hungry and got excited, that’s all! He’s pretty harmless, I promise.” 

Just as he said that Flygon and Laika locked eyes, giving each other dirty looks before Charizard growled loudly at them, scaring them into breaking that intense eye contact.

Raihan approached and rubbed the back of his head, “Lee’s not great at keeping things quiet enough for others to not hear. I’m sorry that Vern caused such an ordeal!” He held out his hand to the woman, having to squat down slightly to be able to look her in the eyes while waiting for a handshake. “I’m Raihan, Leon’s best friend. I’m the gym leader over in Hammerlocke if you didn’t know.” He laughed, “Lee told me how long it took you to realize he was the champion, so I thought I’d let ya know who I am just in case!”

Ru almost took his hand to greet him back until that last thing he said, which made her slowly look over to Leon unamused. “You TOLD him?” 

Leon didn’t answer, only flashing her a nervous grin.

Raihan was dying with laughter once again, pulling the hand he had out to Ru to hold over his face. “MAN, if looks could kill!”

Shaking her head, the young woman turned her attention back to the Hammerlocke gym leader, catching his hand as he brought it back toward her and shaking it gently. “I’m Rufina, though you can call me Ru.” She smirked, “I’d still wanna settle that score with you if you’re up for it...Flygon-boy.”

“Oh, you’re SO on.”


	7. The Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ru gets to battle Hammerlocke's gym leader, Raihan. And as it turns out, Raihan ends up telling Ru something he had learned about Leon recently.

Leon sat by Ru’s set up by the pond, watching Ru and Raihan standing far across from each other to battle. Having known Ru for almost two years now, he was a little worried about how she might do, given that he’s never even seen her battle before.

Raihan smirked widely, his Flygon, named Vern standing at his side. “Alright!” He shouted from across the field, “Let’s do a double-battle, 2v2. The two Pokémon you bring out are the only ones you get. Last Pokémon standing is the winner!”

Ru dipped her head, looking to Laika with a determined look. She scratched her chin, thinking to herself out loud; “Flygon is a ground and dragon type...Laika won’t be able to take them on effectively given its immunity to fire type moves…” She looked over her shoulder, seeing her other Pokémon sitting around Leon and Charizard to also watch. She smiled and whistled at her team; “Felicity, come here!” 

The little Furret perked up and rushed to her trainer’s side, chirping happily. 

The young woman smirked, glancing back over to the dragon type gym leader. “Alright, ready when you are, Flygon-boy!” 

“You really like throwing that name around, huh?” Raihan chuckled, bringing out an ultra ball from the clip on his side and chucked it out in front of him.

The ball burst open, a Duraludon emerging and letting out a roar, now being joined by Flygon on the battlefield. 

“Leon! Come and be the referee!” Raihan yelled. 

The champion sighed and walked over to the left side of the battlefield, mumbling to himself. “We can’t stay out here too long, just so you know…”

Raihan ignored what his friend said, slouching down and holding his hand out like claws, baring his teeth with a bright smile. “Let’s get this battle going!” 

“Ready?” Leon looked back and forth to each of his friends with a smile. When seeing them both nod, he threw his arm down and shouted; “BEGIN!”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The first half of the battle was rather quick. Laika was easily able to take out Raihan’s Duraludon given that it was half steel-type. But at the same time, Ru’s Furret lasted just as long.

It was down to the wire. 

Only one Pokémon remained on each side.

Laika stood her ground, tongue hanging out as her sides heaved. It had been a long time since the Houndoom had ever battled. Let alone against a Pokémon she was at a disadvantage with. 

Even Ru was sweating, she couldn’t remember the last time she got to battle either. But that didn’t keep her from flashing a smile. She looked up to the sky, noticing the weather was clear and the sun shining bright. While Laika’s fire-type moves wouldn’t do much because Flygon’s first type being ground, she knew her partner had a move that’d surprise her opponent.

“Dragon Claw!” Raihan commanded his Flygon, who lunged toward the Houndoom in front of him.

Ru flinched, her grin faded and she swung out her arm, “Dodge it and then absorb as much light as you can!” 

Laika knew just what the plan was and growled excitedly, just narrowly avoiding the razor-sharp claws of her opponent. She leaped into the air and jerked her head back, jaws open wide. 

Light began collecting into Laika’s mouth like a second sun coming to life as she started to fall from the sky.

Raihan and Leon could only look up briefly before being blinded by the light. 

“Now, use solar beam!” Ru yelled, throwing beads of sweat and spit as she threw a hand into the air.

The tall man across from Ru jumped in shock, he had no idea that move could even be used by a Houndoom. “Q-quick, dodge it and use crunch!” He stuttered loudly.

Flygon lunged toward Laika just as she shot her beam of light at him.

A large explosion occurred, no one could see what happened. The force even knocked Ru down onto her butt.

Vision on the battlefield was poor from the smoke and dirt floating in the air, even after things got eerily quiet. 

Leon walked into the cloud of smoke, trying to find out who had won.

Flygon zipped into view, making Leon duck to avoid being hit as he crashed into the dirt. The Pokémon slowly staggered up, wings hanging low from exhaustion. 

“What’s the verdict, Lee?!” Raihan asked eagerly. 

Ru slowly stood back up, taking off her black jacket from how hot it had gotten since the start of the battle. Her glasses were even fogged up to the point where she had to clean them to see.

The mixture of dust and smoke was finally clearing, revealing a passed out Houndoom who only just started to stir.

Raihan’s shoulders dropped, more than relieved to see he had for sure won. He approached Ru with a big smile and hands held behind his head; “Geez, you had me worried for a moment there!” He laughed, “For a researcher, you’re quite the fighter! I didn’t even know a Houndoom could use solar beam.”

As soon as Ru put her glasses back on, she looked up to the tall man heading her way. She grinned bashfully; “Oh- she only knew that move because I thought it would help increase sunlight for-” She paused seeing the rather puzzled look on Raihan’s face, and soon Leon’s when he joined the two. “Um...yeah, she’s known it for a while…” For a moment, she had forgotten that not everyone was as technical as she was when it came to pretty much anything about Pokémon like Sonia, so she did her best to just keep her reply short and sweet.

Ru politely walked past the two men and went to Laika, kneeling beside the canine-like Pokémon and pulling her head onto her lap. “You did so well, Laika...thank you.” She then leaned down and touched foreheads with her partner, “Take it easy now, you earned it.” 

Laika’s tail slowly wagged and she lifted her head to lick Ru’s face. 

Rocco, the blue Houndoom that had watched the entire thing from afar, ran up to the two with a Sitrus berry in his mouth. He dropped it at Laika’s feet, then licked her face gently.

When Vern, Raihan’s Flygon approached, Rocco looked directly at him and growled, as if to scold him for defeating his older sister. That is, until the Flygon looked in his direction, to which he yelped in fright and hid behind Ru. 

“So…” Raihan walked back over to Ru and plopped down onto the ground in front of her and Laika with a smirk. “I was hoping to save this for blackmail on Leon if I ever needed it….buuut you really impressed me with that battle, so I guess I owe it to ya to share this information.” 

Leon raised a brow in confusion, “Raihan...what’re you talking about..?” He walked up to the two before joining them on the ground, sitting next to his best friend. 

“...What..?” Ru cocked her head to the side, just as confused as the champion. 

While Leon’s Charizard and the rest of Ru’s Pokémon came running over to join the others, Raihan’s grin broadened, nearly resembling the wide smile of a Totodile.

“For quite a while now, Lee’s talked a lot about this chick who he’d find in the Wild Area a lot. To the point of nearly annoying the living shit out of the other gym leaders. I’m sure he’s even talked the chairman’s ear off about this cutie too.” He scratched his chin, shutting his eyes while holding on to that cheeky look of his.

Leon suddenly looked horrified when staring at his friend; “Raihan wait-”

“At first, we had no idea who he was talking about! Cause with all his fans, Leon normally goes to secluded areas around here to train, even getting lost on purpose just to keep the ladies from finding him.”

“Raihan-”

“But now I get to meet this girl he’s been babbling on about! And man, the things he’s said about you!” 

“RAIHAN!” Leon had never tackled the gym leader onto his back so quickly. He even pulled the hood of Raihan’s jacket over his face and yanked the drawstrings tight to shut him up.

Well, he hoped it’d shut him up.

The dragon-type gym leader was dying of laughter in his hoodie, kicking his feet hysterically. He raised a finger, “In short- I think Lee likes you!” 

Further proving Raihan’s claim, Leon’s face had flushed a deep red. Before he had used his cap to hide just how bashful he had become. 

There were no words. Ru was so taken aback, she just stared at the friends wide-eyed. 

Even Laika looked baffled.

“I-I mean...I always liked Leon…” Ru said with a stutter, now starting to blush a little herself. 

Both Laika and Rocco looked at their trainer unamused, clearly knowing she was either playing dumb or was actually oblivious to what Raihan had actually meant. Very obvious that the Elm side of her had come out again.

Still hidden by his hoodie and on his back thanks to Leon, Raihan waved a finger at Ru. “No no no...LIKE-like. You know!” He started to count with his fingers, “Crush, pining, SIMPING.” Raihan then crossed his arms. “If you’re not getting it by now then this just proves you two need to go out for coffee at least.”

Ru felt so red in the face finally understanding what the gym leader was saying, unable to respond after that.

Even Leon was struggling to find the words to speak up, which created a very awkward moment of silence. 

“Oh, Arceus’ sake guys..!” Raihan sat up and pulled his hoodie down off his head, giving both people a frustrated look, “Just go out for coffee or something! How hard is that?!”

Leon finally spoke up but had a rather annoyed tone of voice, “It’s easy for you to say considering how many girls you dated...I barely have the time for a love life!” 

“You only ever dated like once in the past before you knew how to manage your time, Lee! Besides, you’ve hung out with Fifi A LOT since you met her!” 

Ru watched the two men bickering, she wasn’t sure if she should stop them or just wait it out. Considering that Raihan called her ‘Fifi’ again, she was very tempted to speak up. But Laika had then approached her and nudged her arm gently to grab her attention. 

Just as the young woman turned her gaze to the Houndoom, Felicity came scurrying over with the bottle of ointment Ru had earlier before battling Raihan. Iris, Ru’s Luxray, also came over but had gauze in her mouth.

Ru took the items from her Pokémon and dipped her head, “Thank you…” She whispered to them with a smile.

All four Pokémon sat near their trainer, listening to the men behind them still talking to one another while keeping an eye on their trainer. 

“I almost forgot about it…” The woman said to herself out loud. She took off her dark beige dress shirt, now just in a white tank top. She ignored just how drenched in sweat her undershirt was and rolled it up just enough to see scars.

Massive old wounds adorned her body, most notably on her left side and arm. She had cuts lining her abdomen like something had wrapped a huge, sharp claw around her. 

She applied the ointment to one of the old puncture wounds that she had unintentionally reopened earlier. Ru didn’t think she’d do that again but it had happened quite a lot recently, even waking up with her nails in her skin. 

Ru suddenly flinched, feeling a scaly figure touch her shoulder. When looking behind her, Leon’s Charizard stood there with his snout to her left arm.

His blue eyes were fixated on the long jagged scars that started at the top of her shoulder and disappeared far under her tank top. Charizard pressed his nose to Ru’s arm again and let out a gentle purring-like sound as if to apologize to her for whatever she had gone through to give her such battle scars.

“Thank you, Charizard...I’m alright.” The woman brought a hand up to the Pokémon’s face and stroked his muzzle sweetly. “They’re a bit older than they might look…”

“A pokémon did that, huh?” 

Ru looked up, seeing Raihan now standing behind Iris and Felicity. She could’ve sworn his teal eyes suddenly looked like an angry dragon’s; slit pupils and a faint glow. Suspicion and deep concern reflecting off them like his mind was going through multiple scenarios that could’ve given her such scars.

His staring was extremely intimidating and made Ru feel a bit uneasy.

Never had she seen such an expression on someone she assumed to be far from a serious person.

Leon sat down next to her, looking extremely worried. And scared?

He was also staring at the scars. It made him sick at his stomach thinking about who or what could’ve done this to such a sweet woman. “Do they still hurt..?” He asked.

Ru was quiet, feeling a bit anxious having people so concerned for her well-being. It reminded her of when she had to live with a couple in Alola to recover from her wounds. 

Leon’s expression and quiet voice mirrored theirs.

“Not all the time…” She finally said; “Sometimes when I get too anxious, I’ll accidentally reopen them because while they’ve mostly healed, they’re only a few years old...my nails are pretty sharp too so it’s easy to cut myself unintentionally when I have a panic attack. Even if Laika is trying to calm me down.”

Laika rested her head on her trainer’s lap, letting out a whine.

Ru smiled and stroked the Houndoom’s head softly. “When Raihan’s Flygon- I mean, Vern, showed up...Laika looked so scared and reminded me of the day I got all these injuries. And I reopened one of them panicking about that…”

“So...you have PTSD?” Raihan responded, rubbing the back of his head and letting out a heavy sigh. “Geez, now I feel kinda shitty for challenging you to a battle.”

“No, no, it’s okay! I actually really enjoyed that battle.” Ru grinned again and looked down at Laika. “I think the last time we battled was back in Kalos when my dear friend, Professor Sycamore, was teaching me how to use mega evolution with Laika. I had actually entered the league because he encouraged it so much. But I was then given the chance to go to Alola during the spring instead of the fall, so I quit after the second gym.” 

Leon smiled next, “Man, I never knew that. It seems really cool you were such good friends with the Kalos professor.”

Ru nodded, “He’s like a brother to me. I wish I could’ve spent more time with him in Kalos but I had always wanted to go to Alola, so I couldn’t wait.” 

“I take it you’ve pretty much been around the world, huh?” Raihan chuckled, “I wish I could travel to so many places.”

Leon picked up the gauze off Ru’s lap and helped tear off a slither of it, holding it out to the woman next. “You always have such interesting stories, Ru.” He then blushed, “Maybe...maybe you could tell me more about things you did around the world over some dinner?”

The young woman looked down at the champion’s extended hand that held the piece of gauze. She smiled gently and bobbed her head slowly, “Sure...I’d like that a lot.”


	8. The First Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ru and Leon finally go on their first official date

Ru sat on the edge of her bed inside the Circhester Hotel, staring at her phone anxiously, she felt like she had butterfrees in her stomach. Wait...could someone logically have butterfrees in their stomach? Who even came up with that expression? Why does the feeling make sense to it?

Laika jumped onto the bed, breaking the woman out of her ridiculous train of thought. The Houndoom barked, laying down beside her trainer and laying her head over her arms. 

Ru giggled and stroked the Pokémon’s head; “I don’t know why I’m so nervous, Laika..! It’ll be like the times we hung out at the diner! Just…” She gulped, feeling her face turn red, “different…” She put down her phone and stood up, exhaling slowly. “I should at least kill some time finding something to wear…”

“Okay, what about this?” Ru stepped outside of the bathroom in a grey and magenta suit, originally meant for formal meetings or fancy dinners. Like the big meetings with the professors of each region with her dad.

All of her Pokémon were lined up on or in front of the bed, watching Ru show off the outfit. Rocco, the shiny Houndoom, dry heaved on the floor in front of him, while the rest stared awkwardly. Iris, Ru’s Luxray, just yawned and turned to lick her left paw. 

Ru dropped her arms to her side and groaned, “Oh, come on! This is my best outfit! Sure, it’s old and-” She looked down to see a vinaigrette dressing stain on the right breast of the coat and cringed; “Needs...dry cleaning…WHY IS THIS SO HARD?!”

All of the Pokémon flinched hearing their trainer’s phone ring, watching it jump off the end table and fly toward the young woman. They all forgot it had a Rotom in it.

There was a cute picture of child Ru with Professor Elm on the screen, Ru letting out a sigh as she took the phone to answer it. “Hi, daddy! I can’t talk long, I’m afraid-”

“Oh, I’m sorry if I’m distracting you! I just wanted to call and see how you’re doing. The last time you called, you said you had that nightmare where I was in it…” Professor Elm’s voice trailed off toward the end, genuine concern in his tone.

Ru paused for a moment, taking the phone away from her ear and hitting a camera button; “I’m putting you on a video call, dad.”

After a few seconds, Professor Elm popped up on the screen, revealing him to be in his apartment above the lab. His brown eyes blinked a couple of times behind his glasses and he smiled kindly; “Oh, how I missed seeing your wonderful face, Ru sweetheart..! I wish you’d hurry up with your work so you can come back home! It’s rough not having your creative mind at the lab helping with our egg research and so on. And you know a certain assistant misses you too.”

“I’m sure they do…” Ru smiled and nodded, “I miss being there too but I still have quite a lot to do. I’ve just barely scratched the surface! Galar is so vast, and I-”

“Why’re you in your suit? Are you going to a meeting? It looks like it could use a good dry cleaning.” The professor interrupted his daughter, catching her off guard.

The young woman frowned and looked at her Pokémon, “Okay, I’ll change!” She looked back to her phone, “I’m uh...going out to dinner tonight...on a…” She gulped, “A date..?”

Silence.

Ru stared, feeling pretty awkward. Did her phone freeze up, or was that blank look of her dad’s always so...unsettling? “...Daddy..?”

“Who are they? They’re not like that CALEB from Kalos, are they? Do I need to make some calls?”

“What? No, no!” Ru giggled, “He’s from here- from Galar. You don’t have to worry, he’s nothing like Caleb. Really...NOTHING like him. He’s that friend I told you about that I met doing research.”

Professor Elm looked even more shocked; “Oh. Well, he better treat you well! O-or I’m flying over there to take care of him myself! I won’t tolerate another moron like-”

“Yes, yes, daddy...Caleb was quite the handful…”

“Right.” The professor then cleared his throat, “Well, I’ll let you go now so you can get out of that suit of yours. I don’t think wearing an outfit with a stain on it would be best...BUT IF THAT FRIEND OF YOURS TRIES ANYTHING-”

“Daddy I don’t think you’d be able to do anything anyway if Leon were that kind of guy!” 

“I know people!” 

Ru grabbed the phone, “BYE DAD!!” As soon as she hung up, she looked back to her Pokémon, looking a bit annoyed.

Rocco gagged again.

“I’M CHANGING! I’M CHANGING!”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wyndon was so beautiful at night. The many bright colorful lights giving the city a glow from a distance. It wasn’t super busy that evening, albeit the many restaurants had quite a few customers inside. 

In the nicer restaurant closer to the stadium, there weren’t so many people compared to the others. That was where Leon sat toward the back of the building in a booth, patiently waiting for his date. He felt a little nervous, fumbling with his nice white dress shirt with small frills lining the collar, then playing with his long purple hair, then staring at his glass of water.

Just as he tried taking some calming breaths, a dark hand slammed the table in front of him, making the plates and silverware clatter loudly. “Might wanna hide those sweaty armpits, man. Very unflattering on a first date.” Raihan grinned.

“Wha- What’re you doing here?!” Leon hid his hands under his arms, now self-conscious about whether or not he was actually sweating under there and how bad. 

Raihan pointed to himself pridefully, “I’m here to be your wingman! That’s what bros do!” Seeing the confused yet irritated look on his best friend’s face, he busted out laughing and shook his hands. “Nah, nah, I’m just pulling your leg. The MAIN reason I’m here is I decided to grab myself a hot date too. Everyone just eats up Pokégrams of a celebrity on dates, y’know?”

“...I-I really don’t…” Leon looked around the restaurant, then noticed a woman sitting alone a few tables down. She was looking in their direction, watching like she was entertained by the friends talking. Slightly lighter-skinned than Raihan, two tight braids tied behind her over mid-length hair. What was so striking about her was her blonde hair and bright platinum eyes. “Is that her?” He pointed nonchalantly. 

“Yep!” He looked over his shoulder, goofily waving to the woman looking right at them. “Her name’s Monica. She sounds like some neat-freak from tv but she’s actually really chill! And she’s a real BADASS. You should see her battle sometime with her Corvisquire.”

Leon took a slow sip of his water, “I’ll take your word for it…”

Raihan chuckled, looking around the room until noticing a figure approaching. He patted the table and winked to his friend; “Welp looks like your date is coming. Good luck, buddy!” 

As soon as the Hammerlocke gym leader hurried back to his own table, Ru appeared. She looked like she had been in a bit of a hurry to arrive, panting as she dipped her head to Leon apologetically. “I’m SO sorry if I’ve kept you waiting! One of my Pokémon wouldn’t go back in his ball, he was being really stubborn today and I’m not sure why.”

Leon noticed Laika trotting up in a vest, showing she was an emotional support Pokémon, and crawled underneath the table, much like the time he and Ru had gone to a diner for lunch. He then looked to Ru, seeing her in a nice pale green top, a silver jacket, and a black pencil skirt that matched the flats she wore and her dark eyeshadow. He dipped his head in return, gesturing to the seat across from him. “It’s no trouble at all! I had only gotten here just a few minutes ago. Why don’t you sit down and I’ll flag down our waiter so you can get a drink, you look pretty parched.”

“Not too bad but yes, I could use a drink.” Ru laughed as she sat down on the bench just across from Leon. She heard obnoxious laughter behind her and looked over her right shoulder, spotting a familiar man just a ways from their table.

She looked back at Leon, “...You can see Raihan there too, right..? I’m not seeing things?”

Leon chuckled, “Unfortunately, yes...He decided to go on a date tonight too. That’s just Raihan for you, always the ladies man and pretty nosy about what I’m up to…”

“So...he’s done this before I take it?”

“Well yes and no, I haven’t been on a date for quite some time. But he’s certainly done this when I’m doing other things. He’s even kinda made himself at home at my flat a few times when he’s super bored.” Leon glanced over to where Raihan was, shooting him a dirty look when his friend looked back and waved.

Ru also gave Raihan a quick look, “Well, regardless…” She smiled gently, “It’s a bit comforting to know it’s not just me that feels a little rusty when it comes to dating. I haven’t been on a date for quite a few years myself.” 

Leon had let out a bit of a chortle hearing that, “Then here’s to tonight.” He held up his glass just a bit to pretend to make a toast before taking a sip. 

Later, while eating their meals, the pair seemed like they were on the verge of passing out from laughter, leaning their heads back as they chuckled toward the ceiling loudly.

“A-and then, my father thought we actually broke his expensive incubator! He was about to call the parents of the children the Pokémon were going to and give them such sad news before we finally told him it was a prank.” Ru wiped tears from her eyes after that fit of laughter and finished her story. She took a few more bites of her vinegarette salad between snorts and giggles, remembering her story so vividly.

Leon responded shortly after bellowing with laughter himself, gazing down at his own food. “I can imagine the look on his face when he found out you and your friend were joking. You sound like you were quite the troublesome kid back then.”

“Guilty is charged- Sometimes I still feel like that kid is still in there.” She started to pick at the seasoned greens in her bowl with her fork, smiling softly. “I kind of had to mature a lot quicker than most kids. Or, at least, it felt that way. As my father’s only child, I’m supposed to inherit his work should anything happen to him if he doesn’t find another successor at some point.”

The champion tilted his head to the side, “Really? I take it your father is some kind of scientist? You talk a lot about him yet you’re still a bit vague on some details.” He couldn’t remember whether or not she’s mentioned her dad’s occupation before but it didn’t hurt to get a refresher.

Ru shook her free hand in front of her as if to dismiss Leon’s question, “Well, I feel like we’ve talked enough about me for now. You’ve barely been able to get a word in, I’ve been so rude!” She put down her fork, leaning down to rest her head in her hands on the table. “So, your brother Hop- is he your only sibling, or do you have any other brothers or sisters?”

“Ah, it’s just Hop. I don’t know if my mother would’ve been able to handle another kid like us.” Leon jested, “I wandered off a lot as a kid, so she was always running around trying to keep up with me. As you already know, I’m pretty poor with directions- more so as a child. And it was a lot harder for her to keep such a careful eye on me when Hop was born. My grandparents ended up moving in just to help her out around the house and keep me from tearing it down.”

“So then you were quite the troublemaker too then!” Ru snickered, seeing Leon nod his head in agreement with a joyful grin. “But what about your dad? Was he never around to help your mother?”

Silence.

The young man’s expression had fallen into a distant, somewhat pained look. Like an old wound was being revealed. He took a big swig of his drink quietly.

Ru felt a lump in her throat, immediately guilty for what she asked. “Oh...I’m sorry if I brought up anything you don’t wish to talk about-”

“No no, it’s quite alright.” Leon weakly chuckled and looked to Ru with those soft yellow orbs of his, showing more to her that he was quite content about the subject. And yet, like part of him wished it wasn’t brought up. “My father passed away when I was little, actually…” He started; “Right before Hop was born, and I was only 10 at the time. He was really sick. He was quite a lot since I could remember…” He placed his hands on his lap and had gripped his pant legs.

Now the guilt was building more and more as she listened intently to Leon’s story. Ru felt movement at her feet, remembering Laika was still underneath the table. She then noticed Leon flinch and look down at the empty spot in the booth to his right and smiled.

Laika rested her head on the seat of the bench, looking up at Leon with her big red eyes, and had let out a whine of concern. When feeling the champion’s hand on her head, she shifted to rest her chin on his closest leg.

“Laika seems to think you’re feeling a lot more than what you’re showing,” Ru said with a weightless gaze, watching Leon’s body language and expressions very closely. “You seem to be really good at hiding how you truly feel…” She closed her eyes and tilted her head back slightly, “If it helps at all, I kinda grew up without my mother for almost as long as you without your dad...she didn’t pass away but...it kind of felt that way…”

Leon blinked with interest, he now switched roles with the young woman, watching her movements this time. “Oh?”

Ru hummed, “My mother was sweet up until I turned 7. She became short-tempered, ignorant, and never seemed pleased with anything my father did for her. She didn’t always like the things I did either...she wanted me to be more like her but I was more interested in being like my dad. Then one day...she was found with someone else in Kanto. Soon as her secret was out she left us. She tried taking me with her but I wanted nothing to do with her or my new half-brother…” She reached over to her glass of water and quickly took a sip, then gripped it with both of her hands. “I...I always felt bad for also ignoring my brother but he ended up like my mother anyway.”

The two were quiet again, though Ru’s emotions were far easier to read. Especially when Laika moved away from Leon to tend to her trainer, even jumping into the chair with Ru and licking her cheeks dearly.

“Geez…” Leon hissed, rubbing the back of his head. “I can’t imagine what that was like for you…I’m so sorry…”

“I mean-” Ru instantly looked up at Leon, forcing a smile and giggling, “I don’t think I would’ve had my childhood any other way. If it were different, I wouldn’t have been able to travel and make many new friends.”

The champion stared for a moment, then bobbed his head. “That’s quite a positive outlook on such a thing.” A faint streak of pink washed across his cheeks as he picked at the short hairs on his jawline, averting his gaze slightly. “Frankly, I admire that kind of genuine positivity.”

Just as Ru started to bashfully respond to what he said, she heard a voice approaching quickly to their table.

“Damn it, Fifi! You had me thinking I was gonna have to come to the rescue on this date of Lee’s!” Raihan walked up with a toothy smirk, “You two all frowning and looking like y'all were about to cry- I could’ve sworn something was up!”

Ru glared at Raihan as she watched him wave to the woman that sat with him earlier now leaving. “...You don’t know the meaning of privacy, do you?”

“Priva-who?” He replied to her jokingly, laughing when he saw her get more irritated with her. “I’m messing with you~ I really thought things weren’t going well and thought I’d check in on you two before I head back to Hammerlocke.” Raihan then turned his attention to Leon and whispered to him, “Maybe back it up a little on opening up so much on the first date, buddy. She could still potentially just be dating you for your fame and get those juicy details about you to tell the bloggers.”

“I don’t even know any bloggers-”

“EY- this is a boy’s only conversation, young lady!” Raihan pointed to Ru, “You’ll get your turn.”

Leon let out a heavy sigh and shoved Raihan away, getting out of his seat in the process. “Okay, Raihan, time for you to go home! I think I got it from here.”

As his best friend was showing him to the door, Raihan shouted; “Don’t forget to use condoms tonight!”

“AND OUT YOU GO!” Leon almost literally threw Raihan out the front doors, completely red in the face. He ignored the weird and amused looks from the remaining people in the building and returned to the booth.

Ru was just as embarrassed as he was, her face buried in her hands to hide her own flustered look. “If he calls me Fifi one more time I’m going to kill him…” She said through her teeth.

“Only if you let me get the first hit on him, then be my guest…” Leon muttered. “I’ve learned my lesson telling him where I go for a date.”

“Is he always that annoying?”

“Only on Fridays.”

That made the young woman burst into laughter, even letting out a few snorts from the unexpected response she got from her date.

Leon grinned seeing the reaction he got. He didn’t even realize what he said was so funny until Ru started to sound a bit like a tepig. “I’m serious! Every Friday he gets twice as annoying, and I think it doubled because of this date! He is convinced he’s the sole reason we’re even at this dinner and feels like he’s the thing that’s gotta keep it up! All because he’s got ‘experience’.”

“Well, next time, I hope he won’t even know where you are so this doesn’t happen again. While it is kinda funny to see the kinds of reactions he gets out of you.” Ru collected the last bits of her salad in her bowl, slowly looking up at Leon.

“Wait- so...you enjoyed tonight?”

“Aside from your ‘wingman’ chiming in and shouting the word condom to the entire restaurant, yes. I just hope I didn’t get too depressing a moment ago to scare you off.” She brushed a strand of her brown hair behind her ear, blushing.

The room felt just a bit warmer, and Leon’s heart was fluttering with joy. “N-not at all! I’d have to let you know when I’m free next, as the chairman tends to be a little last minute with some plans or meetings with me, we could...maybe spend a day at that diner we ate at last?”

Laika looked to her trainer and gave her a teasing look, to which Ru rolled her eyes and pushed the Houndoom away gently. “I think that’s a great idea. I just hope you remember not to tell Raihan about it so he doesn’t try anything again.”

“Deal.”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Raihan stepped into Hammerlocke Castle using the main entrance, his footsteps echoing through the massive hall. He looked to his left to see the receptionist at the counter just closing up. Other than that, no one else seemed to be around.

He approached the desk, holding out a hand. “Could I see the trainer log for today?”

“Yes sir.” The woman dipped her head and handed the gym leader a clipboard.

Raihan turned to face his back to the receptionist, reading through the papers. “Good, I see Camilla took care of the kids’ class for today.” He turned around to hand the clipboard back, thanking her sweetly.

An elevator chime could be heard behind him, making the tall male freeze. 

Teal eyes slowly looked toward the silver doors on the other side of the hall, seeing them opening with a bit of a creak.

A husky older man emerged with a tall woman following closely, the two looking a bit disappointed in something. The man sighed and tugged at the red tie under his grey suit, talking about something to the blonde beside him.

They both noticed Raihan. “Oh, good evening, Raihan.” The male said cheerily, “I didn’t realize you were out so late. I hope we’re not intruding.”

The gym leader scoffed, folding his arms in frustration. “Evening...and I should be questioning the same to you. Aren’t you usually home or hidden away in your tower, Chairman?”

“I had some business that required my immediate attention, I’m afraid. But it’s been taken care of, so no need to worry.”

“Chairman.” The woman spoke calmly, keeping her hands together in a proper manner in front of her.

The Chairman ignored the woman and approached Raihan. 

Before he could speak, Raihan immediately cut him off; “I’m closing up the building now, if you could make your way out now, please, Chairman Rose. I’d like to go home sometime tonight.”

Rose cleared his throat, “Yes yes, of course. Sorry to keep you.” He turned to leave, followed by his secretary. Upon reaching the entrance, he paused and looked over his shoulders with a friendly look, “Perhaps sometime this weekend if my schedule allows it, I’d like for us both to have lunch together like old times- a nice uncle-nephew outing.”

“Maybe some other time…” Raihan scratched at the back of his neck, “I’m pretty booked this weekend with the gym and all.”

“Right. Well, another time.”

And with that, the two were gone. 

Raihan’s eyes narrowed, looking back to the elevator suspiciously. He grumbled to himself as he headed further down the hall toward the stadium, waving to the receptionist; “Make sure to lock those doors before you leave, Luci!” 

“Yes, sir.”


End file.
